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lavender creme brulee

servings
4

method

Lavender has a clean fresh flavor and is surprisingly good in cooking, particularly with fish or tagines.

Preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F/gas 1. Score the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the vanilla seeds with a knife or a teaspoon. Place the seeds into a saucepan, add the pods, cream and milk and slowly bring to the boil. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, get yourself a large bowl that will fit over your pan and beat together the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Remove the vanilla pods from the pan and, little by little, add the milk and cream to the egg mixture in the bowl, whisking continuously. Add 2.5cm of hot water to your dirty pan, bring to a simmer and put the bowl on top of the pan. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes over the simmering water, stirring often, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in a small handful of lavender flowers, but the trick is to be delicate – you only need a hint of its distinctive, strong flavour.

Remove any bubbles or froth from the mixture before dividing it between your ramekins. Stand these in a high-sided roasting tray, and fill the tray with water halfway up the ramekins. Place carefully in the preheated oven and cook for around 30 to 45 minutes or until the mixture has set but is still slightly wobbly in the centre. Allow to cool at room temperature then place in the fridge until ready.

To serve, sprinkle each crème brûlée with a tablespoon of caster sugar and some more of the lavender flowers and caramelize under a very hot grill or using the chef’s torch.

ingredients

• 2 vanilla pods
• 300ml double cream
• 200ml whole milk
• 8 large free-range or organic egg yolks
• 75g sugar
• a bunch of lavender, flowers picked
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by Charlotte on Wed 07 Sep 2011 @ 08:23

Can you use ANY type of lavender flowers or any of them harmful if eaten? There are so many types of lavender!

2. by Jane on Tue 05 Oct 2010 @ 12:50

I'm putting this on my christmas dinner menu as one of the dessert options. Haven't personally tried it yet but hubby is a huge fan so that's enough recommendation for me!

3. by thearyan on Wed 13 Jan 2010 @ 22:04

This is an amazing dessert, I made it last night. A few alterations:
-brown sugar instead of white sugar
-1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (no vanilla pods)

It's slightly tricky, especially since I'm a teen and have a broken wrist! :)

4. by ShelleyMur on Thu 02 Jul 2009 @ 13:02

I made this creme brulee last week without the fresh lavender flowers and it was fabulous! I have to admit I was a bit nervous but I gave it a go and will make it again very soon, would recommend giving it a go!

5. by katie on Mon 29 Jun 2009 @ 16:11

Amazing...tried it, with a bit less lavender but results were incredible! Very delicate but interested flavour!

6. by Annebet on Sat 03 Jan 2009 @ 00:03

Hi Maud,
I have the same problem :( I haven't tried it yet, but maibe you can use some mascarpone and mix it with the 'slagroom' ?

Greetings
Annebeth

7. by Travis on Thu 01 Jan 2009 @ 14:10

Maybe you should try a lime and ginger brulee jamie, just do your brulee as normal but use vanilla pods, knobs of ginger and kaffir lime leaves. Absolutely stunning!

8. by Maud on Sat 20 Dec 2008 @ 19:58

Hi, I love creme brulee and I really want to make it myself. But I live in Holland and here you can't get double cream, only cream with a lower fat percentage. Does anyone know how to replace the double cream? thanks in advance

9. by David on Thu 20 Nov 2008 @ 06:18

Hey... i've made the creme brulee like 4 times now and it is awesome.. cant get enoguh of it but i have been making it in a pie tin. anybody knows where to get ramekins cause i cant seem to find em

10. by Patricia Smith on Tue 11 Nov 2008 @ 18:21

Is it okay not to strain the vanilla seeds out of the mixture. Do they get soft so that they're not chewy or gritty?
Jamie, so far I've made your chicken cacciatore and the roasted lemon chicken. Fantastic in both cases. Thank you!! Patricia in British Columbia :-)))

11. by Audrey on Thu 25 Sep 2008 @ 17:36

Creme Brulee is one of my favorite desserts. I need a recipe for this Saturday for my 13 year old daughter's 13th birthday.She has requested creme brulee as we have "caked" ourselves out having our entire family,myself,hubby,and three children ALL born in September!
We had an amazing creme brulee once in a restaurant, made with lemon and thyme.It was perfect, we almost licked the bowls.O.K. we did lick the bowls,but there was no dress code. After we polished them off I went into an upscale kitchen store bought ramekins and a great U.K. published book on creme brulee with 40 recipes and made a classic,but no lemon-thyme.Pul-lease anyone being a creme brulee master...respond

12. by Lelita on Wed 10 Sep 2008 @ 09:45

Can I use dried lavender flowers?

13. by megan on Wed 03 Sep 2008 @ 14:02

the recipe looks so good. I have always wanted to try making Creme Brulee`.

Your a great chef

14. by Mike on Wed 09 Jul 2008 @ 08:37

Could anyone kindly let me know whether the bowl containing the mixture should be touching the simmering water or just above it? Can you prepare the creme brulee one day in advance??
Thanks!

15. by Dina on Wed 28 May 2008 @ 17:13

I sooo don't get any of this! it's like speaking alien to me... IT'S NOT CLEAR AT ALL!!
All of you others may get this soo please help me cause I really wanna try this recipe out!

Anyway .. Jamie Oliver ur a great cook!

16. by Rhianwen on Sat 24 May 2008 @ 12:55

Might try this one!
For my GCSE prac dessert I made lemon creme brulee with lavender shortbread...
The best bit was eating it at the end!

17. by Jolene on Mon 05 May 2008 @ 23:06

Looks bloody delicious!

18. by Doireann on Mon 25 Feb 2008 @ 20:55

Ok I'm not sure about messing with a classic but it's quite difficult to get a really good brulee so I'll give it a go - if you weren't Jamie Oliver though...

19. by Rebecca on Thu 07 Feb 2008 @ 21:47

love this recipe. in answer to alvaro's question, you do the simmering to slowly raise the temperature of the eggs to make the custard creamy. if you just stuck them in the oven you'd have little disks of scrambled eggs essentially.

20. by Alvaro on Sat 12 Jan 2008 @ 17:55

Jamie says this serves 4, but i ended up with 6 servings a 120 ml each. How much brulee is supposed to be served per person? Good recepie though, dont really get the simmering over a pot thing. I mean, doesnt the brulee get done in the same way in the oven?

21. by Simon Wan on Thu 11 Oct 2007 @ 07:34

i can't get fresh lavender flowers the time i wanted to try this recipie.. so i've replaced it wih jasmine. it turns out really ok because cooked jasmine produce really fresh fragrant.

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