Flavored Creme Brulee - How To

[thebaker]

pineapple

Considered this, too, when thinking about a kaffir lime, coconut, pineapple trio. But I wondered if it wouldn't prevent the cream from setting.

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Yes, I was also worried that the acidity wouldn't work...hmmm, maybe a plain vanilla creme brulee topped with chunks of grilled pineapple?

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I have done the pineapple.

Small tiny chunks of pineapple in the ramekin

and I let a few chunks soak in the mixture for a few days

I have not had any setting problems

[carswell]

pineapple

Considered this, too, when thinking about a kaffir lime, coconut, pineapple trio. But I wondered if it wouldn't prevent the cream from setting.

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Yes, I was also worried that the acidity wouldn't work...hmmm, maybe a plain vanilla creme brulee topped with chunks of grilled pineapple?

←

I have done the pineapple.

Small tiny chunks of pineapple in the ramekin

and I let a few chunks soak in the mixture for a few days

I have not had any setting problems

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Thinking about this, I realized I've made perfectly solid pineapple flans with egg and cream. According to several websites and a couple of cookbooks I checked, fresh pineapple contains an enzyme that prevents gelatin from setting. (Heating destroys the enzyme, which is why the canned pineapple and lime jello salads of my youth weren't soup.) That must be the factoid I was incorrectly recalling.

[aidensnd2]

Has anyone ever made or tried an egg nog creme brulee? If so, how was it?

Thanks

[Ling]

I've made them before--they are delicious! (If you like egg nog, that is.) I just added the spices you find in egg nog to my regular recipe (2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 6 yolks, dash of vanilla).

[MGLloyd]

I have done as Ling has, but have added a splash or two of brandy and rum into the custard as well.

[thebaker]

I have egg nog brulee this weekend in my trio of creme burlees

Gingerbread, Eggnog and Candycane

For the topping of the eggnog brulee i mixed some fluff with heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg and a bit of rum, spread it on top and brulee it

it went over really well

[nicolekaplan]

mace is the secret ingredient to nog

[divalasvegas]

I've made them before--they are delicious! (If you like egg nog, that is.) I just added the spices you find in egg nog to my regular recipe (2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 6 yolks, dash of vanilla).

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Hello Ling, that recipe, along with the other tips here, sounds delicious.

After reading your yummy description of eggnog creme brulee and I wonder if you could provide a little more information on how to make that dessert properly. I assume that it is baked in custard cups in a water bath. What temperature and for how long? Also, I have a crappy old oven with one of those broilers that is at the bottom of the oven (and no blowtorch, BTW). This is what I would use to create the caramel topping. How much and what kind of sugar do you use to create your topping. Lastly, after the custard bakes do you need to chill it before putting it in the broiler/blowtorching it to create the topping?

Sorry to pepper you with so many questions, but if not on Christmas Day, I'd like to try this recipe soon.

Thanks so much for any advice you may have.

[miladyinsanity]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19694&hl=

If you don't have any other way of doing the burnt sugar on top, somebody suggests something else in that topic.

[shacke]

I had this before in a restaurant a long while back and thought I could recreate it by heating the cream with a pureed banana for flavor and then straining the finished custard through a chinois.

Well that didn't work very well. The texture of the final result was starchy and not smooth like expected. Needless to say, the professional version was very flavorful and smooth (It was a real banana and not extract).

Any tips for iprovements from the experts are much appreciated.

Thanks

Evan

[tan319]

Not sure what could of helped but burr mixing (hand held blender) might have made it smoother.

Roasting the banana first might have brought the flavor out more.

A pinch of salt never hurts.

Banans are funny things re: taste.

Some are bland, etc.

What restaurant served this?

Maybe they used a dehydrator to concentrate the flavor too?

[xdrixn]

steep 3 ripe bananas and their peels per liter of base, salt.

[chiantiglace]

steeping sounds like a good idea. But I wonder if you could just temper the cream into the eggs and banana puree. Then allow it too steep/cool overnight and strain.

[xdrixn]

first of all I hate creme brulee and am grateful I don't have to make them anymore.

puree or steeping, it's a matter of preference. I don't want any puree in my brulee. By steeping you get the essence, maintaining the desired texture.

a splash of banana liqueor wouldn't hurt.

[shacke]

first of all I hate creme brulee and am grateful I don't have to make them anymore.

puree or steeping, it's a matter of preference.  I don't want any puree in my brulee. By steeping you get the essence, maintaining the desired texture.

a splash of banana liqueor wouldn't hurt.

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I appreciate the help. For the uninitiated (like - uhhh - me!) can you elaborate on the steeping process? Drop it hot cream and let it sit off the heat? How long?

Thanks again

Evan

[glennbech]

We had a super-smooth passion fruit bruleè as a pre-desert at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant this Easter, and now I want to replicate it.

Does anyone have rules of thumb on how much liquid I can add to a bruleè without having to worry about if it will set or not?

I was thinking of just adding passion fruit pulp without seeds to the egg/cream mixture og a "regular" bruleè recipe. Is this a good start?

[ryanj]

When I've made passion fruit creme brulee, I always use my standard creme brulee base and substitute passion fruit puree for some of the cream. I will sometimes up the sugar a bit as well. I think my recipe looked something like this = 3 qt. cream, 1 qt passion fruit puree, 1 Vanilla Bean, 3 1/2 - 4 C. sugar, 30 egg yolks. Good Luck.

[ludja]

I usually like "plain" creme brulees but one of the best variants I've had a restaurant was also a passion fruit creme brulee.

I don't think the seeds were used in the dish except maybe as a garnish. The creme was smooth and I think some passion fruit juice was used in the brulee topping which was crisp and had a nice "bite" of the passion fruit. I'm not sure how the topping was done--passion fruit juice mixed with brown sugar and this then bruleed?

Also curious to hear other's thoughts or experiences.

Thanks for the tips on flavoring the creme, ryanj!

Edited April 17, 2007 by ludja (log)

[JeanneCake]

GR has the recipe for passion fruit brulee in his dessert book, which of course I cannot find at the moment.

But, this is a variation of Sherry Yard's brulee

Mix 2 cups milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup passion puree, 2 TBL orange juice, 1 TBL lemon juice on the stovetop, bring to a gentle simmer then take it off the heat and cover. Whisk 8 yolks to mix and then add the cream gently to the yolks then strain it. Fill ramekins to the rim, bake at 300 in a water bath about 40 mins until they jiggle (they're set but not brown, and not puffed). You don't want the cream to be too hot, (she mentions 165 degrees as the optimal temp to add to the yolks when she discusses creme brulee in general terms). Chill, then brulee to order.

[alanamoana]

there's no problem with the milk or cream curdling when adding passion fruit juice, orange juice and lemon juice to it before scalding?

whenever i'm dealing with dairy and citrus or acidic ingredients, i scald the milk mixture first just to be safe. i'd probably whisk the sugar into the juices as well to temper them and then add to the dairy components.

[JeanneCake]

I add the juices together first, then to the milk and cream and (knock on wood) haven't had it curdle.....

of course, now that I've said that watch what happens next time I make it!

[bake4luv]

hey everyone,first of all this is my first post as im a new member. Im a pastry chef here in the uk....ok down to business lol.

I have a passion fruit brulee on the menu at the moment so here is my recipe...

500ml double cream or whipping cream

200ml boiron passion fruit puree

100g caster sugar

8 yolks

there is no problem with heating the cream up with he juice it will not split. I cook them at around 130 degrees centigrade until there is a little wobble still visible. these are nice and tart enjoy!

[Stuckey]

I'd like to make matcha (green tea) creme brulee for some friends, but I've never had matcha before, so I don't know what it tastes like! I have no problems making a regular creme brulee - I use a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. The ingredients (halved, to make four servings) are 2 cups heavy cream, 1/3 cup sugar, half a vanilla bean, and 6 egg yolks. How might I adapt this recipe for a matcha creme brulee? Omit the vanilla bean? Maybe increase the sugar to counter the bitterness of the matcha? And how much matcha should I use? Thanks for any help!

[tim]

Hi,

A few years ago, I developed a recipe for pumpkin creme brulee that was highly successful.

The problem with most pumpkin brulee is that the fruit puree changes the texture of the custard to pumpkin pie. (I assume there are similar problems with most fruit brulee.) One suggestion above was to use dehydrated bananas. I assume that pureeing these with cream might work, but I have not tried that one.

The solution to pumpkin brulee was to juice a very fresh pumpkin, toss the pulp (flavorless) and reduce the juice to a syrup. The pumpkin syrup was perfect. The recipe needs to be adjusted with a little less sugar and more heavy cream.

The result is a wonderful custard texture and excellent flavor. The addition of pumpkin pie spices also works.

Tim

[gfron1]

I wonder if you could change the flavor using the clarification process outlined in this topic. With that, you would have natural flavor - not extracts, and you would not change the consistency. I just don't know if it would be intense enough to change the flavor.