We put Sinful Sunday treats on hold for a while after the excesses of the festive season. However, we could not deny ourselves any longer so asked our friend, Chef Gerhard Koekemoer from Food Ink to provide us with a deliciously naughty recipe. This sweetly tangy lemon curd crème brûlée doesn’t disappoint! While it’s a quick dessert recipe to make, you do need to allow a couple of hours for your crème brûlées to cool and set in the refrigerator before serving.

YOU NEED

8 x 115ml/4oz ramekin dishes

You’ll also need a larger open dish that can serve as a bain marie or hot water bath for the ramekins. Check out how to make and use a bain marie here.

 

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 8)

600ml fresh cream

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

6 organic egg yolks

100g lemon curd (I buy this one from Woolworths. If you prefer to make your own, then you can find our easy 20 minute recipe here.)

50g castor sugar, plus extra for the sugar crust topping

 

TO MAKE YOUR LEMON CURD CRÈME BRÛLÉE

Heat the oven to 150⁰ Celsius with the fan on and butter your ramekins.

Place the cream and zest in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally.  Keep a careful eye on it and remove the cream from the heat as soon as the mixture boils.

In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon curd and 50g of castor sugar until creamy and pale in colour.  Pour the hot cream mixture over the egg mixture, whisking continuously to prevent curdling.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large jug and then pour into your 8 prepared ramekins.

Place the ramekins in your bain marie (water bath) and fill the bath to about 2cm high. Gently place the bain marie with the ramekins into the middle shelf of your oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the custard has just set. (It should still wobble when shaken.)

Remove from the oven and let the crème brûlées cool then refrigerate until chilled.  They should have a slight “jiggle” to them.  Don’t be alarmed, since this is what you want.

Remove the chilled desserts form the refrigerator and sprinkle with a thick layer of castor sugar. You then need to melt the sugar to form your hard brûlée crust.  You can use your oven’s grill to melt the castor sugar or you can use a kitchen blow torch if you have one.   If using the grill, keep a watchful eye on the desserts. You want the sugar to melt, not burn.

Allow the melted sugar to cool and harden before serving.  This will create the perfect “crack” for your crème brûlées.

 

If you love this recipe and are looking for a “private dining” catering experience, drop an email to [email protected] to get in touch with Chef Gerhard and his team. Or simply check them out to see what they’re up to, they’re always sharing cool new recipe ideas and sneak peeks into what they’re doing in the kitchen.

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/foodinkchef

Instagram: Gerhard_koekemoer

 

THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST

 

(RELATED POST: Find more of our Sinful Sunday recipes here.)