Crème fantastic

Entering a world of delicious flavours

CLASSIC

Position a rack at the centre of the oven and heat it to 300°F. Pour 1¾ cups of heavy cream into a small saucepan. Cut a vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise with the tip of a knife and scrape out the black seeds.

Add the seeds and the scraped pod to the cream. Whisk it all briefly to disperse the seeds. Then bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat and remove the pan from the stove, cover it and let the contents sit for about 10 minutes.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, lightly whisk four large egg yolks, ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt until it is all combined. Lightly whisk about ½ a cup of the cooled cream into the yolk mixture and stir it for about 30 seconds. Then gently whisk in the remaining cream, stirring it for around 15 seconds for it all to blend.

Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a large heatproof bowl that has a spout. Divide the custard evenly up to an inch in ramekins placed in a deep baking pan. Slowly pour the hot water into the baking pan until the water comes about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins.

Carefully transfer the baking pan to the centre of the oven. Lay a sheet of aluminium foil over the pan and bake the custard for 40-50 minutes, until the edges are set about ⅓ of an inch from the sides of the ramekins and the centres jiggle slightly.

Cautiously remove the baking pan from the oven and take the ramekins out.

Let them cool on a rack at room temperature for 30 minutes; then transfer uncovered to the refrigerator to cool completely. Once the custards are cold, wrap each ramekin in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours or up to two days before proceeding.

Shortly before serving, remove the ramekins from the fridge and sprinkle ½-1 teaspoon of sugar over each one of them. Then gently burn the surface with a flame torch until the sugar melts and turns a deep golden-brown. Allow the sugar to cool and harden for a few minutes, and serve immediately before the sugar softens and becomes sticky.

GINGER Omit the vanilla bean; instead, add ½ a tablespoon (firmly packed) of finely grated fresh ginger to the cold cream before bringing it to a simmer.

COFFEE Omit the vanilla bean and soon after the cream comes to a simmer, remove it from the heat and whisk in 1 ½ teaspoons of instant espresso powder until it dissolves. Cover and let it sit for 10 minutes.

TEA Omit the vanilla bean and after the cream comes to a simmer, remove it from the heat and immediately add five tea bags of Earl Grey tea. Cover the contents and let it sit for 10 minutes.

PEACH

Before serving, add a few thinly sliced peaches prior to adding the sugar. Then gently burn the sugar.

COCONUT

Replace the 1¾ cups of heavy cream with coconut milk.

NUTELLA

Before pouring the custard into the ramekins, drop a dollop of Nutella into the ramekin and then pour the custard gently over it.

ORANGE

Add two tablespoons of fresh orange juice and a teaspoon of zest to the custard, and mix it well.