Dairy free creamy vanilla custard infused with premium Organic Tahitensis Vanilla pods. Topped with a perfect caramelised sugar crack.
Unlike its name and reputation this dessert is quite simple to make and only requires a handful of ingredients.
DESCRIPTION
Custard
Pre-oven to 150ºC (300ºF) and place 2 x 120ml ramekins into an oven-safe baking dish. Set aside.
Boil the kettle to have hot water ready to pour into the baking dish just before baking.
In a large mixing bowl add egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until well combined and smooth, about 20 seconds. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add cream by only scooping out the thick cream at the top of the can, it should measure 200ml. Discard the liquid at the base of the can.
Take vanilla bean pod and using a small paring knife, slice the bean down the middle lengthways, making sure not to slice all the way through. Scrape out the seeds using the back of the paring knife and place into the cream in the pot. Add the entire vanilla pod to the cream as well.
Place cream over a low heat and allow the vanilla to infuse whilst occasionally stirring. Once small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot and the cream has come to a gentle simmer, remove from heat. Make sure it doesn’t reach boiling point. Remove vanilla pod with tongs and discard.
Slowly drizzle a small amount of warm cream at a time into the egg mixture whilst whisking vigorously. This will temper the eggs to make the custard. If you pour too much in at a time, it will cook and scramble the eggs.
Pour and divide mixture into ramekins.
Pour boiling water into the dish the ramekins are in until the water reaches halfway up the ramekins.
Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 30-32 minutes or until they have a slight wobble in the middle and are set around the edges.
Remove from oven and carefully lift out ramekins and set aside for 10 minutes.
Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
Topping
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar evenly over the top of each custard.
Torch sugar gently using a kitchen blowtorch until golden brown, ensuring not to burn.
The first alternative to a kitchen blowtorch is to place ramekins with the sugar until the grill/broiler until the sugar is golden and then allow to set.
The second alternative to the blowtorch is to make a caramel on the stove and then pour it over the custards and allow it to set. Serve and enjoy!
