Flavored Creme Brulee - How To

[Wendy DeBord]

Just when I thought I'd made every flavor of creme brulee I get a request for a flavor I haven't done, raspberry. Actually it sounds gross to me.

Basicly I'd like to know how others have done this successfully?

Put berries on the bottom and proceed as usual?

What about mixing berries with just a bit of raspberry preserves to heighten the flavor?

But is this going to turn the creme ontop into a pukie pink shade?

Or do I go the other way and make a raspberry brulee by flavoring the whole custard raspberry?

P.S. I have to bake these off first thing this Thursday 8/21.

[NeroW]

I would flavor the entire custard if I had to do this.

It's gonna come out the color of that Raspberry Yoplait Custard-Style.

[Steve Klc]

Wendy--Jacques Torres has a good fruit creme brulee in his first book, Dessert Circus--roughly a 50/50 cream:fruit puree ratio. Mango or passionfruit, I forget now. Use puree or coulis--not preserves. I've done it and it works out very well. You have to adjust the time and temp to your oven. Raspberry yoplait is a good call and ain't so bad tasting but I'd worry about a wan color.

I'm personally not that big a fan of fruit pieces in a brulee--it never works out well.

A modern way to pull off a raspberry creme brulee might be to cook a raspberry caramel--caramel deglazed with puree--stir in some dried raspberry powder--pour it out--let it harden--then grind it up into a powder. When it comes time to brulee the brulee--sprinkle this fruit powder on instead of brown sugar and caramelize.

[Lesley C]

What if you made a raspberry curd, poured it into a ramekin and froze it, then topped it with a vanilla creme brulee made on the stove.

I dunno, might work, no?

[Dave the Cook]

I just want to say: I love threads like this.

At first, I was with Sinclair: sounds yuck.

Then the Yoplait thing comes along, and I'm mentally rolling it around in my mouth with a shattering of flame-broiled sugar: hmmm . . . it could work . . .

Then Steve's post, with a Torres reference and conjecturing based on his own experience -- and by the time Lesley makes a suggestion, I am totally sold on the idea of Raspberry Creme Brulee, and I have to -- just have to -- know the best way to make it.

Please continue.

[Wendy DeBord]

Thanks for the thoughts.

After thinking more about this I can't do the raspberry yoplait thing in good concience. I could go for the passion fruit or mango but not raspberry.

I noticed Richard Leach has a ricotta raspberry brulee. He uses cream cheese & ricotta in his custard base, passes it thru a sieve and bakes. Then I didn't follow his instructions: he makes a whole berry coulis tells you to put it in another dish and top it with a vanilla sabayon. So I'm serving two bowls (one of brulee the other rasp with sabayon)....it totally lost me-anyone familar with this?

I like the idea of the stove top brulee on a rasp curd or a rasp jellie. Two tones are better then one as far as I'm concerned (more interesting). I think I'm going to head down this road and see what happens.

THANK YOU

[chefette]

I agree with Sinclair that using puree mixed in makes for disgusting color in the final product. I think maybe one option would be the berries in the bottom then instead of bruleeing the top you could do a layer of raspberry gelee and finish with a crisp sugar tuile or a raspberry tuile.

[rickster]

As a consumer, I know I'd prefer the contrast in taste and texture between a custard layer and a fruit layer rather than having them mixed together.

[Flossie]

I'm only a home cook so I feel a bit out of my league here but: I've made raspberry creme brulee many times in the past 10 years and it is one of my husband's favourite desserts. There's a lovely contrast between the acerbity of the raspberry layer on the bottom of the dish, topped by the creamy custard, topped by the crunchiness of the burnt sugar on top. I only make this when I have fresh raspberries to hand, preferably from my own garden. Never frozen. Might try a puree sometime, though. I once saw a recipe for apple creme brulee - didn't like that AT ALL. The apple was stewed then mixed with the custard. Gross.

[Ruth]

Jeremiah Tower has a wonderful recipe for a passion fruit crème brulée in his latest book. It was published in the New York Times in April, if I remember correctly. I made it for a dinner party and it was a resounding success. I think his recipe could be adapted for any fruit. You will be able to find it if you search the New York Times archives.

[PaulaJK]

I've done Torres' passion fruit creme brulee and

love it. It uses puree, not pieces of fruit. Like Steve,

I don;t care for 'pieces'......but that rasp brulee

concotion sounds divine. About how much puree

would I add to 1 c of caramel and still have it

set?

[Lesley C]

Don't bother baking berries into the creme brulee. The results are jammy and watery, seriously disgusting. The reason I mentioned curd is that the two consistencies are the same, and I like layers, the element of surprise for the diner. In raspberry season, I'd served some berries alongside.

[FoodMan]

Sinclair-

How did it come out??? Any pics we can see.

I've made a Rhubarb Creme Brulee from one of Jamie Oliver's books and it basically has a layer of sugar cooked rhubarb on the bottom. It tasted wonderful.

Please share your results.

FM

[Wendy DeBord]

Well it turned out that I have no results. The chef 86'd it. He's so hot on this darn caramel tart I made-he wanted that instead.

I had planned on doing the rasp. curd and a stove top brulee, served in a martini glass (so you could see the layers)with a tuile spoon and a couple fresh berried tucked to the side of the glass.

Next time......

Edited August 22, 2003 by Sinclair (log)

[FoodMan]

Well it turned out that I have no results. The chef 86'd it. He's so hot on this darn caramel tart I made-he wanted that instead.

I had planned on doing the rasp. curd and a stove top brulee, served in a martini glass (so you could see the layers)with a tuile spoon and a couple fresh berried tucked to the side of the glass.

Next time......

caramel tart??? Is that custard based?? I've been meaning to duplicate a dessert I had called "Creme Brulee Tart" but was not sure if I should put the uncooked custard in the baked tart shells and bake again till it sets. Will that work? or will the shells get soggy?? I know the place I had it at seems to have baked the custard in the shells. What about a water bath to cook the custard?? Can I use one in this case ??

FM

[Wendy DeBord]

You can definately bake a custard in a tart shell. That's very classic. Brulee-ing the custard with a sugar top is all you do to call it a creme brulee tart.

You need to par bake your crust before adding the custard. You don't use a water bath in this case.

Rose Levy B. has a recipe in her Pie and Tart bible for this. You can also make a huge number of variations on this dessert.

[Lesley C]

Martha Stewart also has a variation of that in her tart book.

I'd do the stove top thing, pour it into a pre-cooked shell then bake it at 200F until it sets a bit further. Or, I'd do the stove top brulee and add a few sheets of gelatin to make sure it cuts properly. A creme brulee is a bit too soft to set up to tart consistency. Individual tarts wouldn't be a probelm, big one big tart would be a mess to slice.

[chefette]

So Foodman, you never had quiche?

[FoodMan]

You can definately bake a custard in a tart shell. That's very classic. Brulee-ing the custard with a sugar top is all you do to call it a creme brulee tart.

You need to par bake your crust before adding the custard. You don't use a water bath in this case.

Rose Levy B. has a recipe in her Pie and Tart bible for this. You can also make a huge number of variations on this dessert.

Thanks Sinclair, I will give it a try.

FM

[FoodMan]

So Foodman, you never had quiche? 

Very good point, I make quiche all the time but I guess I just did not link the two maybe because my quiche usually has cheese, bacon, spinach and other stuff while the tart I'm talkig about is pure nice and creamy custard with caramalized sugar topping.

FM

[PastryLady]

Question for bruleeing in tart shell. Would you cover the edges somehow so when you are carmelizing the sugar, you wouldn't darken the edges of the shell? If so, what do you use, foil or something else?

[Wendy DeBord]

A creme brulee is a bit too soft to set up to tart consistency. Individual tarts wouldn't be a probelm, big one big tart would be a mess to slice.

Ah......it never accurd to me that someone might mean a full size tart of creme brulee. Although a chocolate (white or dark) would set up enough to work in a larger format.

You don't have to cover your sides if your using a torche, but under a broiler you would.

P.S. Are you thinking of her pumpkin brulees....I can't recall seeing Martha doing this? (not a big deal-just can't remember it)

[FoodMan]

A creme brulee is a bit too soft to set up to tart consistency. Individual tarts wouldn't be a probelm, big one big tart would be a mess to slice.

Ah......it never accurd to me that someone might mean a full size tart of creme brulee. Although a chocolate (white or dark) would set up enough to work in a larger format.

You don't have to cover your sides if your using a torche, but under a broiler you would.

P.S. Are you thinking of her pumpkin brulees....I can't recall seeing Martha doing this? (not a big deal-just can't remember it)

Just for the record Idid mean individual tarts

FM

[KarenS]

I worked at Postrio many years ago. The creme brulee was made stovetop and poured into puff pastry shells over berries. It was a Puck "signature" dessert for years. I still do prefer to make creme brulee stovetop (more control, all portions the same texture-plus stirring a custard while it cooks makes it creamier). You also end up with fresh fruit underneath insted of cooked.

[thebaker]

I am looking for some ideas for creme brulee flavors

I found out the new owner of our restaurant loves small tastings for dessert, so I put a trio of small creme brulees on the new dessert menu and he loved it

I am trying not to repeat flavors to much,

I am looking for some new flavor ideas

I try and have the 3 flavors that i use compliment each other.

below are the flavors I have used allready..

Orange, lemon lime strawberry blueberry raspberry peach coconut mango coffee chocolate toasted almond rum ginger lemongrass banana pumpkin

up next week are

Maple, pear and apple cinnamon

thanks for your input.