Ginger & Spice Crème Brulee

This crème brulee recipe is inspired by the ginger brulee tarts at the Bourke St Bakery in Sydney. Their tarts are so good!

*** French cuisine purists beware - this brulee recipe does not follow the orthodox method of creating the brulee custard... you have been warned! ***

This recipe makes 6 small brulees (I used 1/4 cup capacity ramekins)

Ingredients
2 cups (500ml) pouring (pure) cream
4 egg yolks
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1/2 small, thin cinnamon stick
2 green cardamom pods, bruised
1/4 cup caster sugar
demerara sugar, for sprinkling
chopped pistachios, for decoration

Method
1. Place the cream, ginger, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 3 minutes, then set aside for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.

2. Remove the ginger and spices by straining the mixture into a bowl, then return the cream to the saucepan.

3. Return the saucepan to very low heat (important because we don't want to scramble the yolks) and add the yolks and caster sugar and stir continuously for 6-8 minutes until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.

4. Transfer custard to a jug (you can strain out any lumps with a sieve) then pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough boiling water into the dish so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the custards set. Remove from the baking dish and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for an hour, or until cold.

6. When ready to serve, sprinkle the tops of the custards with demerara sugar. Caramelise with a torch, or under a hot grill, then repeat. Two layers of caramelised sugar makes for a beautiful crisp top to crack through, yielding delicious creamy custard beneath.

Yum! :)

Ladybird x