In 1691 a French cookbook, Cuisinier royal et bourgeois by Francois Massialot, referred to a dessert called crème brûlée for the first time. It is thought that the dish was inspired by Crema Catalana which originated in fourteenth century Spain and involved topping a custard with sugar and heating it until it melted to form a hard caramelised crust. In 1702 Massialot’s book appeared in English and the crème brûlée was translated literally as burnt cream. The dessert seemed to fall out of favour during the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century in Britain and France but suddenly became very popular, particularly in Britain, during the 1980s. This recipe is based on that of Elizabeth Moxon in English Housewifry (1764). It is delicious served with Wardonys in Syryp or any other stewed fruit.
Equipment
Weighing scales
Measuring jug
Large saucepan
Mixing bowl
Electric hand whisk
Wooden spoon
Large shallow ramekin
Preparation method
Place the cinnamon stick and the cream in the saucepan and heat to boiling point.
Remove from the heat and allow the cinnamon to infuse for about 20 minutes.
Place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the large mixing bowl and beat with the electric hand whisk until thick and pale in colour.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the cream and pour it slowly into the egg and sugar mixture whisking all the time.
Wash and dry the saucepan, pour the custard into it and place on a gentle heat. Stir continually with the wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the spoon.
Remove from the heat and pour into the ramekin. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Place in the fridge and chill for a few hours.
Take the ramekin out of the fridge and scatter the demerara sugar thinly over the top of the custard and set under a very hot grill until the sugar has melted and caramelised.
Return to the fridge and chill for an hour or so until the sugar topping cracks.
Note: I tend to prefer to use a hand-held electric whisk so the recipes refer to this, but you may prefer to use a stand mixer. Just use the beater for mixing cake batters and the whisk for egg whites and cream.Tip: Once you have separated the eggs for the egg yolks you can put the egg whites in a freezer bag or plastic container and pop in the freezer to use at a later stage (for meringues for example). They are best used within a few months.
Georgian
Serves:
8
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Chilling time 4 hourshours
Total Time 4 hourshours55 minutesminutes
Ingredients
500mldouble cream
1cinnamon stick
100gcaster sugar
2medium eggs
2medium egg yolks
Demerara sugar for the topping
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Burnt cream
Serving Size
108 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
338
Percent of Daily Value*
Fat
25
g
38
%
Saturated Fat
15
g
94
%
Cholesterol
158
mg
53
%
Sodium
38
mg
2
%
Potassium
96
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
27
g
9
%
Sugar
26
g
29
%
Protein
3.8
g
8
%
Calcium
63
mg
6
%
Iron
0.5
mg
3
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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