Here in southern Missouri, where we live, spring is tormenting us. One day it’s nice and warm—you could totally wear sandals and no jacket at all (which excites me as I LOVE sandals). The next day it’s cold, and I find myself pulling my coat back out of the closet.
Also, one of my brulees got a little too toasty. Guess which one? I tend to do that to my first one almost every time. I get too zealous with my torch, I guess. 🙂 Luckily, the toasty ones are still yummy.
Despite the weather, we’ve all decided it’s spring. It just is. That means we’re free to seriously shop for swimsuits, break out our favorite pair of sandals (if our toes can take the chill), and make all manner of spring-inspired treats.
I got the ball rolling with these citrus tarts. Now I’m in the mood to make lavender everything and start up my ice cream maker. Today—lavender creme brulee.
Lavender Creme Brulee, makes six to eight (depending on your ramekins’ sizes)
Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
1 quart heavy cream
1 scant teaspoon dried lavender buds
1/2 cup (granulated) sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup superfine sugar
6-8 fresh lavender leaves (optional)
In a large sauce pan, heat the cream and lavender buds until just boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (10-15 minutes).
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until the color softens to a pale yellow (2-3 minutes by hand).
Strain the lavender buds out of the cream. Add a small amount of cream (1/4 cup) to the egg yolks and stir until combined. Slowly incorporate the rest of the cream into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour the batter into your ramekins (or small glass bowls; anything oven safe is fine). Place in a baking pan and fill with water so that the water comes up halfway, covering the ramekins. Bake at 325°F for 42-45 minutes.
Allow the creme brulee to cool. Cover, then refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight (up to three days).
I really like that you can make this ahead of time and then just finish the tops before serving. This aspect makes these a great option if you’re hosting a dinner party, saving you time in the kitchen on the day of.
Top each custard with a spoonful of superfine sugar (granulated will work also, but superfine is best). Sometimes superfine sugar is also called baker’s sugar. Use a kitchen torch or the oven broiler to caramelize the sugar topping.
Now you can dip a lavender leaf in sugar and place on top of the creme brulee for a pretty presentation.
This recipe contains enough lavender flavor to make these interesting but not overwhelming (sometimes too much lavender can leave your recipe tasting like perfume).
If you’re on the fence about lavender, you could easily reduce the amount of lavender buds used to reduce the flavor. Try it. See what you think and let us know in the comments. Enjoy! xo. Emma
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Ingredients
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 scant teaspoon dried lavender buds
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- 6-8 fresh lavender leaves (optional)
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, heat the cream and lavender buds until just boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (10-15 minutes).
- In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until the color softens to a pale yellow (2-3 minutes by hand). Strain the lavender buds out of the cream. Add a small amount of cream (1/4 cup) to the egg yolks and stir until combined. Slowly incorporate the rest of the cream into the egg yolk mixture.
- Pour the batter into your ramekins (or small glass bowls; anything oven safe is fine). Place in a baking pan and fill with water so that the water comes up halfway, covering the ramekins. Bake at 325°F for 42-45 minutes.
- Allow the creme brulee to cool. Cover, then refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight (up to three days). I really like that you can make this ahead of time and then just finish the tops before serving. This aspect makes these a great option if you’re hosting a dinner party, saving you time in the kitchen on the day of.
- Top each custard with a spoonful of superfine sugar (granulated will work also, but superfine is best). Sometimes superfine sugar is also called baker’s sugar. Use a kitchen torch or the oven broiler to caramelize the sugar topping.
Sounds amazing!! I’ve been loving incorporating dried lavender into some of my dishes 🙂
Where did you purchase your kitchen torch?
Wow love this idea for a brûlée I’ll totally be trying this
These sound amazing! And I need to be brave and ice cream my lavender too (verb, right?). I have a jar of dried lavender on my counter and haven’t used it at all because I’m mildly afraid of it! Terrible, right?
It looks amazing, must do. I have jars of my homemade dried lavender buds, so I’ll put them to a good use. Thanks!!
Beautiful!!
YUM! I can imagine how sweet and delicate this would be. I love lavender and creme brulee is an epic dessert. Great job!
www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com
x
mmmm 🙂 nice pics!
Kiss www.BellesOficial.com
Creme brûlée is my favorite dessert, would love to try this version!
http://sincerelylara.com
Lovely recipe.. looks really good and tempting..first time here.. happy to follow you 🙂
As a pastry chef, I can tell you this is not how one goes about making creme brûlée. The pictures reaffirm this. The ingredients/proportions are incorrect. The directions do nothing for someone who needs them to successfully create the recipe. Creme brûlée is not made using cooled heavy cream because one needs to temper the cream into the eggs/sugar. When using a Bain Marie, the water must at least be high enough to cover the custard mixture. I spend my time learning and honing my craft. The recipes this blog attempts to pass off as legitimate are unfair to those who believe in the misrepresentation of your skills. I’m a firm believer in “quality over quantity” especially when it comes to food. Perhaps that is something that can be taken into consideration in the future.
In the picture where you can see the tattoo, I think it also looks like it says “trey” !
#onnomnomnom Thanks for sharing
www.nikitaandvesper.com
I made something almost the same a few years ago. The richness goes so well with the floral flavor of the lavender.
this looks like over the top amazing.
Yes!!! The part of missouri I live in us being spring mean!!!! But so excited to see my first green field the other day!!!! This looks yummy!!!??
Mmmmm yummy! My Grandma makes a good lavender creme brulee but never tried making it myself. I’m saving this recipe to try my own, thank you for sharing 🙂
Lulu xx
www.luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com
This looks almost too beautiful to eat! Alllmost 😉
I’ve always wanted to make my own creme brulée! Thanks for sharing!
everydayingrace.blogspot.ca
At first I thought there would be no way since I don’t have a torch, but using the oven broiler is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
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