Lemon Cream Brulee

My husband brought me a set of ramekins with a kitchen torch from the Post Office as one of the Mother's Day present.  Australia's Post Office does not only sell stamps, posting mails and parcels, you can also pay bills, get a new mobile phone or pick up some gifts.  So the Post Office is not a boring place to go to.  Let's get back to the food business, I follow the recipe from the packet to make this cream brulee, (burnt cream).  The toffee is crispy and the custard is rich.  One of the advantage of giving kitchen ware for Mother's Day is that you'll always get some yummy food in return.  I've made cream brulee before without a kitchen torch and it never turns out as good.  The other recipe I have is to boil the cream, then whisk into the egg yolks and cook the custard in a double boiler.  I find this new recipe easy to follow as I just let the oven does the cooking.  What is your favourite dessert giving you the choice of cream carmel, chocolate lava cake and cream brulee?  Hard to choose, isn't it?

  

Lemon Cream Brulee
(serve 4)

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
300ml whipping cream
1/6 cup sugar, about 3 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Method:

1. Beat egg yolks slightly with a whisk.  Stir in cream, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon zest in another bowl.  Add in egg yolks and beat with the whisk until well blended.
2. Pour the egg mixture into the ramekins.  Place the ramekins in a deep baking tray and fill it with hot water until 2/3 the height of the ramekins.
3. Bake in a pre-heated moderately slow oven (160c) for 30 minutes or until the top is light brown, sides are set, centres jiggly.
4. Cool the ramekins at wire rack.  Cover with plastic wrap and put into the fridge until chilled.  (about 4 hours)
5. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons sugar over each custard.  Caramelise sugar by holding the kitchen torch 8cm from the custard, moving flame continuously over in circular motion until sugar is melted and turned light golden brown.  Decorate it with mints and raspberries.

cooked and cooled custard

ready to get sugar caramelise

this is the fun part making the toffee