Impress your guests with a rather refined dessert. The baked cream is infused with saffron and garnished with sweet lemon and vanilla-flavoured pears.
Ingredients
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- 250ml/9fl oz whole
milk - pinch
saffron - 10 free-range
egg yolks - 175g/6oz
caster sugar - 750ml/1⅓ pint
double cream - 50g/1¾oz
demerara sugar
- 250ml/9fl oz whole
- For the poached pears
-
- 4
pears, peeled, halved, cores removed - 1
lemon, peel and juice - 225g/8oz
caster sugar - 1
vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and seeds scraped out - 4 tbsp
icing sugar - 4 sprigs lemon verbena, to serve
- 4
Preparation method
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For the crème brûlée, preheat the oven to 120C/250F/Gas ½.
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Bring the milk and saffron to the boil in a pan. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool and infuse.
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In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale, fluffy and well combined.
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Add the cooled milk and the cream to the eggs and sugar mixture, whisking continuously until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
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Strain the mixture through a sieve, then divide it equally among four ramekins. Place the ramekins onto a baking tray.
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Transfer to the oven and cook for 1½-2 hours, or until the crème brûlée mixture has set but still has a slight wobble.
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Meanwhile, for the poached pears, place the pears, lemon peel, lemon juice, 150g/5½oz of the caster sugar, the vanilla pod and vanilla seeds into a pan. Add enough water to just cover the pears.
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Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pear is tender (5-15 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the pear). Remove the pears from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper until cool. Slice into strips.
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Dust the pears with icing sugar. To finish them you can use a chef’s blowtorch to char them a little.
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To serve, dust the crème brûlées with Demerara sugar and use a chef’s blowtorch to char them a little. Garnish with the poached pears and lemon verbena.