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Chocolate Orange Crème Brulee
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Posted on Feb 11 2006
By DAVID SPITZER
Special to the Saipan Tribune
Brulee refers to a burnt sugar coating, usually on rich custard. At the Resort, we caramelize the sugar with a blowtorch—it sounds pretty drastic, but it’s the easiest way to get the job done. At home, you can brown the custards under a broiler, but a blowtorch really works best. I’ve liked the combination of cardamom and orange ever since I learned about. The pieces of chocolate in the custard add a mouth-watering surprise. In this recipe, I steep the vanilla, cardamom, and orange zest in the cream for the best flavor.
Serves 4
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 2″ piece of vanilla bean, or liquid
2 cardamon pods
π cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 ounce semisweet chocolate pieces
8 tsps sugar
Pre-heat oven to 325°. Heat water for the water bath.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the cream and orange zest. Split the vanilla bean pod in, too. Remove the cardamom seeds into the saucepan, and drop the pod in, too. Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods, roughly chop the seeds, and add them to the cream. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand 20 minutes. Remove the bean pod, scrape it a second time, and discard. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar and yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the warm cream mixture and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Ladle into 3 ∏ ” ceramic ramekins and set in a water bath (the water should reach two-third of the way up the ramekins). Cover with foil and cut 6 slits to allow air to escape. Bake for 45 minutes or until just set. Remove custards from water bath. While hot, poke the chocolate pieces into the custards. Cool completely.
To serve, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar with a blow torch, or place the ramekins under a broiler until the sugar is caramelized.
(David Spitzer is the executive chef of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.)
