Penguin Anniversary Edition: The Return Of The Naked Chef
By Jamie Oliver
Crème brûlée the way I like it
Not Too Tricky
serves 8
About the recipe
I have eaten crème brûlées all over the gaff and, at the end of the day, an egg custard is an egg custard. Some are good and some are overcooked and bad, but the most important thing is that the custard should only be 2.5cm thick, with a lovely crisp layer of thin caramel on top. So many people plonk their custard mix into a deep ramekin dish with a fat layer of hard caramel on top and that’s just not right.
Recipe From
Ingredients
300g fresh rhubarb
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, scored lengthways, seeds removed
300ml double cream
200ml full-fat milk
8 large egg yolks
80g sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F/gas 1. Trim and roughly slice the rhubarb and place in a pan with the caster sugar and 5 tablespoons of water. Simmer until tender, divide between 8 small serving dishes which your brûlée will be cooked in, then set aside.
- Place the vanilla pod and seeds in the pan with the cream and milk and slowly bring to the boil. Meanwhile, beat the yolks and the sugar together until light and fluffy. When the cream and milk are just boiling, remove the vanilla pods and add little by little to the egg mixture, whisking continuously. I like to remove any bubbles or froth from the mixture before dividing it into the serving dishes, on top of the rhubarb. Stand them in a large roasting tray filled with water halfway up the dishes, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the custard has set but is still slightly wobbly in the centre.
- Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge until ready to serve. Sprinkle with sugar and caramelise under a very hot grill or using a kitchen blowtorch.
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