Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)
Crème brûlée – 7 ingredients
2 cups (500g) heavy cream
⅛ tbsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp raspberry extract (see below)
5 egg yolks (just the yolks)
½ cups (125g) granulated sugar (plus more for topping)
(Optional) Raspberry syrup for topping (see below)
Raspberry extract – 2 ingredients
5 parts raspberries (frozen)
1 part icing sugar
(Minimum: 200g : 40g or will not boil correctly, however you’ll be left with extra)
Raspberry syrup – 5 ingredients
⅔ cup (160g) raspberries (fresh)
⅔ cup (160g) granulated sugar
1+⅕ tbsp (18ml) lemon juice
⅔ cup (160ml) water
1+¼ tsp (18.75g) cornflour
Instructions - (raspberry extract first, then brûlée and syrup simultaneously)
Raspberry Extract – (2h30m, + 12-24h wait, + 2h)
Note: works with blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries too
1.1: Partially fill a medium pot with water to about ⅔ full, and then put it on the stove under medium heat.
1.2: Pour Icing sugar and raspberries into a metal bowl and wrap semi-tightly with cling wrap to entirely cover the opening of the bowl.
1.3: Once covered, shake the bowl until the raspberries are coated in icing sugar.
1.4: Put the bowl of raspberries over the pot of water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
Note: as the raspberries sit above the pot of water, the cling wrap should begin to bubble up, it shouldn’t pop, and if it does, it’s been wrapped too tightly. The point of the cling wrap is to introduce gentle, but uniform heat to the berries. The cling wrap should fog up and inside temperature should sit at around 72-75°C
1.5: Let the berries sit over the water for 2 hours, and check the water level after 1 hour. If the water level has lowered below ½ full, refill with boiling water until it is about ⅔ full again.
1.6: After 2 hours, remove the bowl and be careful as you pop the cling wrap as steam rushes out. You should see a deep red liquid among the raspberries. Take a tall container and pour the contents of the bowl into the container (i’d recommend glass) and wrap the container in cling film.
1.7: Put the container in the fridge overnight to let it infuse further, becoming more flavourful.
1.8: Use a large sieve to separate the large pulp and let sit for a few minutes. Shake around the sieve but do not press or squeeze the pulp, however it’s fine to roll around. There will not be much, but it’s very strong.
1.9: Repeat 1.8 in another bowl, but cover the sieve in 2 layers of kitchen cloth (not paper, I'd recommend Chux Superwipes) and let it slowly drip through naturally. After some time (1+ hour or when it looks like it’s completely seeped through), you may squeeze the cloth. If you don’t have kitchen cloth, a coffee filter works as well.
1.10: Shine a light from the bottom into the collected essence, it should look like a fluorescent red.
Note: You can either throw the large pulp out or find something to do with it, i didn’t know what to do with it.
1.11: You’ll be left with some extra essence after making the brûlée, you can use it to flavour other things.
Raspberry Syrup – (1h)
2.1: Put fresh raspberries, water, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a medium heat over a stovetop, remove the saucepan once the sugar has been dissolved.
2.2: Use a potato masher to mash the raspberries in the saucepan, getting more juice out, then leave it and allow it to cool naturally.
2.3: Strain with a sieve, discarding the solids once it has all gone through.
2.4: Pour the sieved liquids into another saucepan, boiling over low heat. Stir the syrup thoroughly for a few minutes to avoid burning it.
2.5: After 4-5 minutes of stirring, mix in 1 tsp of cornflour mixed with water and continue to stir, add more until you reach the desired viscosity, but don’t add any more than 32tsp. (if it gets too thick, add a tiny amount of water).
2.6: Store in an airtight glass container, can be refrigerated for up to 4 weeks and can be used for other foods such as waffles or pancakes.
Crème Brûlée – (1h30m + 1h wait)
3.1: Preheat the oven to 160°C or 165°C (320°F to 330°F) and heat the stovetop to low heat.
3.2: Combine heavy cream and salt in a saucepan, stirring until mixed. Cook it over low heat until just hot, and then remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes. (Now is the time to add the vanilla and raspberry extracts, use 1 tsp each.)
3.3: In a separate bowl, beat yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy (machine mixing works fine).
3.4: Stir about a quarter of the cream liquid from the saucepan in, and then pour it back into the saucepan after thoroughly combining and stir in the saucepan for a few minutes.
3.5: Pour the contents of the saucepan into 4 6-ounce ramekins, and then put the ramekins into baking trays which are half-filled with boiling water.
3.6: Insert the baking trays into the oven and let cook for 32-37 minutes or until the centers are barely set. Remove from the baking trays and leave to cool completely.
Note: you can either continue to 3.7, refrigerate for 4 days, or freeze for 2 weeks
3.7: When ready to eat, top each custard with a tablespoon of sugar in a thin layer.
3.8: Place ramekins 5-8 cm away from heat source and cook until sugar browns (which takes 2-4 minutes).
3.9: Pour raspberry syrup (see below) into a ziploc or piping bag and cut one of the corners to replicate the effect of a piping bag, top with some other berries or fruits.