Cardamom Crème Brûlée Food

ROSEMARY CREME BRULEE WITH VANILLA BEAN AND CARDAMOM

Steps:

• Place the cream, vanilla bean, and cardamom pod in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• Whisk the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until pale and thick. Do not overcook.
• Remove the vanilla bean and the cardamom pods from the cream. Add the cream to the eggs in the double boiler, whisking constantly. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, approximately 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and rosemary. Pour the custard mixture into a porcelain dish and chill thoroughly.
• Just before serving, sprinkle the custard with remaining sugar and caramelize it with a kitchen torch. Fire quickly and evenly until the sugar is cooked but not burned. Put the creme brulee into the freezer for about 30 seconds and then serve immediately.

CARDAMOM CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325°.
• 2. In a large heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
• 3. Place the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Warm just until little bubbles form around the edge. Remove from the heat and, whisking constantly, pour into the egg and sugar mixture. Add the cardamom and continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is well combined.
• 4. Pour the mixture through a very fine sieve into 6 crème brûlée dishes, filling them only half full. Place the dishes into a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them withough crowding. Place the dish on the middle rack of oven. Working quickly to preserve the heat, finish filling the dishes with the custard mixture, making sure that it comes right to the top of each dish. Then carefully fill the baking dish with very hot tap water so it comes halfway up the sides of the filled dishes. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the custard is set in the center.
• 5. Remove the custards to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until ready to use.
• 6. When ready to serve, preheat the broiler.
• 7. Pass the brown sugar through a fine sieve to eliminate all lumps. Generously sprinkle the top of each chilled custard with an equal portion of the brown sugar, taking care to cover all of the custard, so that it gives an even finish. Place the chilled crème brûlée dishes under the preheated broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, or until the tops are crackling brown. Remove from the broiler and serve immediately.
• Wine Suggestion:
• Royal Tokaji Red
• This quite sweet but well-balanced Tokaji is a stunning companion to this lightly spiced and very rich dessert.

CARDAMOM CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Note that you need to prepare these custards the day before you are serving them.
• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• In a large roasting pan, place six 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the 3/4 cup white sugar and the egg yolks together; then whisk in the cardamom.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a boil; then, s-l-o-w-l-y whisk the hot cream into the yolk mixture (you don't want to curdle the yolks).
• Pour this custard evenly into the 6 ramekins.
• Have ready a kettle full of hot water.
• Open oven door, partially pull out rack, place roasting pan on rack, then pour hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Carefully slide rack back into oven, close door, and bake until custards are set in centre, about 40 minutes.
• Remove ramekins from roasting pan and cool; refrigerate overnight.
• Anywhere from one to six hours before serving time, preheat your broiler.
• Arrange ramekins on a baking sheet and sprinkle 1 tsp white sugar onto each one.
• Broil until sugar browns; watch closely, it only takes about 2 minutes.
• If your broiler does not provide even heat, rotate ramekins halfway during broiling.
• Chill custards in refrigerator at least 1 hour, and for as long as six hours, before serving.

CARDAMOM SPICED LIGHT CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Put the cardamom and nutmeg in a clean cotton or linen cloth and tie it off with string to make a "tea bag." Pour the evaporated milk into a small saucepan. Cut off about 2-3 inches of the vanilla bean, and split the skin, scraping the seeds into the milk. Over medium heat, simmer the milk, bag of spices, crushed cinnamon stick, and the split vanilla bean until the top begins to shimmer and a slight skin forms. Try not to let it boil. Turn off the burner and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks and honey until well combined. Remove the spice bag from the milk mixture.
• Drizzle the milk mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed. Try not to whip in any air bubbles.
• Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pouring carefully to avoid splashing. Discard the extra cinnamon and vanilla bean along with any lumps caught in the sieve.
• Arrange 4 4-6 oz ramekins in a large baking pan. Pour the custard mixture evenly into the ramekins. Pour hot water into the baking pan until the water line reaches halfway up the ramekins. Cover loosely with foil and put the baking pan into the oven.
• Baking times will vary depending on the size and shape of the ramekins. I used 6 oz ramekins and they were done after about 50 minutes. In 4 oz. ramekins they were finished at about 35 minutes. Keep an eye on them, and when they're done, the centers should still jiggle a little bit when moved.
• When the custard is done, remove the baking pan from the oven and allow the ramekins to cool in the water bath.
• Once cool, cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• To serve: Mix together the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a small bowl.
• Remove the custards from the refrigerator and uncover. Sprinkle 1 tsp of brulee sugar evenly over the surface of each custard.
• If you have a culinary torch, use it to caramelize the sugar on the top of the custards and serve immediately. If not, stick the ramekins in a preheated broiler or salamander for 10-30 seconds or so. Watch closely and don't over cook or the custards will burn.
• Bon appetit! :D.

SAFFRON CARDAMOM CREME BRULéE

Steps:

• Bang cardamom pods lightly in a mortar and pestle. Add cream, saffron strands and cardamom to a small saucepan. Scald the cream (heat it on moderately high heat until little bubbles are forming around the edge) - watch it like a hawk - you don't want it boiling and you don't want to waste your precious saffron. Take it off the fire. Cover the saucepan and leave it sit for 30 minutes. Scald it again and take off the fire the let it sit for another 30 minutes (you want the saffron steeping for a long time to extract as much of the flavor as possible).
• Pass the cream mixture though a fine sieve and discard the solids. If it's cooled down scald it once more.
• Combine egg yolks, sugar and rose water in a deep bowl. Whisk it with a fork to a paste. Temper in the cream mixture (slowly add the warm cream in while stirring so the egg mixture does not heat up too fast and start to cook).
• Pour the liquid into 3 or 4 ounce creme brulée ramekins and set up a bain marie - that is a water bath - you do this by placing the ramekins in a roasting or baking pan and add water to the pan so that it reaches almost as high as your custard level. Be careful not to let water get into the ramekins.
• Bake in the oven at 325 for about 30 minutes. It is done when it jiggles only slightly in the middle when the ramekin is tapped from the side. I recommend checking on it at 20 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter. It's hard to predict how long it will take. Remove from the oven and from the bain marie. Let cool on the countertop and once cooled down refrigerate.
• 5 minutes prior to serving take out of the fridge and dust the tops with sugar in the raw then get out your butane torch and burn the sugar going slowly from spot to spot.