Indo French fusion is something you dont hear about everyday. Chef Raji Jallapelli is one chef who specialises in this kind of fusion. And since the theme of Rasoi this month is Fusion, I decided to do this dessert by Raji. This recipe is from her cookbook Raji Cuisine : Indian Flavors, French Passion. Although the chef doesn’t necessarily agree with using the term ‘fusion’, I am using this recipe as it is a perfect match of an Indian spice with a French dessert. This creme brulee was made especially for My Rasoi event at Meena’s Hooked on Heat
The spiciness of the cardamom and the richness of the eggs and cream makes this a very luscious dessert. Creme brulee, to me, was a strictly restaurant dessert. I had no idea that my broiler could substitute for a hand held torch. Isn’t that cool?
Here is the recipe
Egg yolks 6
Sugar half cup
Heavy cream 2 cups
Freshly ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla essence few drops
Light brown sugar – enough to cover the top of the creme brulee dishes
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter 4 brulee dishes or ramekins. Combine the eggs and sugar to form a smooth mixture. I use a hand held mixer to do this job.
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. When small bubbles appear along the edges of the pan, remove from heat and gently stream it into the yolk mixture. Make sure you use a whisk to continously stir the mixture till all sugar dissolves. Finally add the cardamom powder and vanilla. Combine thoroughly.
Place the creme brulee dishes in a baking dish. Add warm water ( I used a kettle) to reach halfway up the sides of the dishes .
Place a strainer in each dish and pour the mixture equally among the dishes. The above mixture is enough to fill 4 dishes.
Bake for about 25min ot till they are set. If you leave it in for too long, it will turn grainy.Remove from the oven and cool. Keep in the fridge for atleast 3hrs or till ready to use.
When ready to serve:
Sprinkle the top of each custard evenly with brown sugar.
Place the dishes under the preheated broiler for about 2min, keeping a close eye on the custard. It needs to be kept close to the broiler)(2 to 3 inches for the tops to turn brown. I hard to place them on an inverted baking dish on the top rack of the oven to reach the ‘desired’ height. Broil until the sugar melts and caramelises. Turn the pan to make sure all parts gets evenly browned.
Remove without burning your fingers and serve immediately.
This is such a fantastic show stopper after any meal. This is so easy that it can spice up any weekday dinner with no effort! It is advisable to put only 2 cremebrulee dishes at a time when broiling them. If this is your first time, I would suggest broiling them one at a time.
Enjoying the fruits of our labor.
Hi Gini,
U r recipe is great.Nice Demonstration.
Thank u
vineela
Cool fusion indeed and never heard of it before 😦
I like the way you present the process, so that it goes get into you.
Look yummy 🙂
Lovely Gini, I can’t wait to try..I adore cardamom..Ottomans used to use it a lot in their cooking, then forgot about it around 18th century. Now whole nation rediscovering this spice again..And thank you for your best wishes, the deep cut on my finger healed relly quickly : )
mm mm good …. looks so good !
Gini, I love your new look blog! What gorgeous photos! And gosh, I wish I could enjoy the fruits of your labour too 🙂
Gini, your blog looks great now!! Nice pictures and the recipe looks yum yum 🙂
The pictures are very nice. I will soon try this recipe.Thanks.
Gini,
Your creme brulee looks tres delicieux!!!
And your blog looks lovely – love the colors.
Faffer
Yummy!! I like fusion cooking. Placing under the broiler is a wise alternative to the torch those TV chefs use. I haven’t thought about that.
oh, YUM! i love cardamom. this is mouth watering. thanks for all the great photos.
Gini,
Creme brulee looks great!
what AWESOME pictures
wish I cud taste that….
Come to think of it..I think I have tasted something similar like this but not sure what it is…It’s also a French product and has the same custardy feeling to it but with espresso flavored topping….Urs look great…Can i use anything else in place of ramekins..
Gini, that looks sinful !! I wish I could try it too!
oooh! lovely fusion dish. The pictures are gorgeous. Great work!
cheers!
looks so yummy. nice presentation.
Thanks everyone for the nice words.
BDSN..as for your question about using something instead of ramekins, I am not sure what else would give this shape and make individual servings. I used cremebrulee dishes..it is flatter than ramekins.
RP..I never tried this before as I though the torch was an absolute must. But yes..the broiler works just wonderful.
ooh. I adore cardamon. Thank you!
I had this at a Lebanese restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. It was incredible!! But there was an added kick. Not only cardamom but a hint of rose water, and orange blossom with a bit of crushed pistachios.