RECIPE: Deliciously decedent Creme Bruleé

One of the great desserts of the world, crème brulée relies on quality ingredients. Thankfully we have some of the best dairy in the world in Ireland!

We caught up with Mark Moriarty to get his fabulous recipe on this equally fabulous dish. We’re huge fans.

He tells us: “I’ll always go the extra mile and buy vanilla pods for this one. Unfortunately, there is no hack for getting the crispy sugar topping without buying a blowtorch. They are now widely available and not too expensive. I usually serve this on its own, but some seasonal fruit can be added.”

Here’s how to master the dish!

Creme Bruleé

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500ml double cream
• 2 fresh vanilla pods, split in half and seeds scraped out
• 6 large egg yolks
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• 20g caster sugar, for the brulée finish

Method

• Preheat your oven to 120°c.
•  Place a heavy-based saucepan on the heat, add the cream and scrape in the vanilla seeds along with the pods. Gently heat the cream until warm without allowing it to boil.
• In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar and salt gently with a spoon or spatula to combine it all, trying not to add any air. Pour the warm cream in on top and mix again with a spoon. Place a sheet of clingfilm on the liquid and allow the mix to rest and infuse at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Place 4 shallow pots or ramekins in a deep ceramic dish and fill the dish with boiling water from the kettle until it reaches halfway up the side. Remove the clingfilm from the custard and take out the vanilla pods. Mix gently with a spoon to evenly distribute the egg before pouring the mix into the ramekins until it is 80% of the way to the top.
• Cover the whole dish with a sheet of clingfilm and carefully transfer to the oven, keeping it level. Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the custards are completely set and barely wobble. Cool, then chill in the fridge.
• When ready to serve, sprinkle a good amount of the sugar on top of the custards and caramelise using a blowtorch until hard and crisp.