Recipe

Apple Cardamom Creme Brulee Recipe
Dessert  Dairy  French  
Ingredients
Element #5 Vanilla Creme Brulee Insert

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream
1/2 cup (115g) 2% milk
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar (if you store a whole vanilla bean in with your sugar, you can infuse it with vanilla, mmm)
1/2 vanilla bean
sprinkling of whole cadamom seeds (not in pod, but not ground)
2 small apples, peeled and sliced (or enough to cover bottom of creme brulee pan)
freshly ground cardamom
brown sugar, to taste

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

Directions
1. Heat the milk, cream, cardamom seeds, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla and cardamom infuse for about 1 hour.
1b. While milk is infusing, line a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper and bake your sliced apples, sprinkled with a mixture of cardamom and brown sugar, at 375 or so until apples are softened.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. You will need a larger pan that your baking mold fits in to create a water bath for the brulee. Lay your baked apple slices into the mold in an even layer. Pour the cream into the mold over the apples. Place mold in larger pan and fill larger pan with at least 1 inch of water, taking care not to spill any water into the brulee. (you may wish to add water carefully into the larger pan AFTER placing it in the oven with the mold.) Bake at 300°F for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.

5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Notes
For a traditional creme brulee presentation, simply use small creme brulee molds. Don’t forget to use a water bath! They will probably take less time, so remove from pan as soon as they have started to solidify and are just a little wobbly in the center. Cool and then sprinkle with sugar and torch to caramelize sugar for an even, crackly crust. Delish!

*I REALLY want to lighten this brulee more. This is a lighter version than the original and it was lovely, but this is just more cream than I really like. I’m certain lower fat milk could be substituted for a lighter, delightful brulee.

Rating:  8

Original Source:  Inspired by Daring baker, my own flavor variations. Please do not replicate without my permission.

Recipe ID:  1342 		Added:  December 29, 2008

Last Modified:  December 29, 2008