Tom Kerridge's Lemon Verbena Crème Brulées
Lemon verbena is one of the easiest herbs to grow but you can also find it in the herb section of some supermarkets. It’s ideal used in sweet, creamy desserts, adding a fragrant lemony flavour that is very fresh tasting. This dish has contrasting textures and blowtorching the lemon segments lifts the favour and appearance to a new level.
Ingredients
Method
- Bring the double cream to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl until light and fluffy. Pour over the boiling cream and mix together. Pour the mix back into the pan and whisk over a medium heat until it reaches 86°C on an instant-read thermometer. The mixture needs to reach this temperature in order to set.
- Pass the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in the fresh lemon verbena and grate in the zest of one of the lemons. Do not discard the zested lemon. Leave the mix to one side for 25 minutes to infuse and cool.
- After the mix has cooled, strain through a sieve a second time to remove the lemon verbena. Pour the mix into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour into 6 serving dishes or ramekins. Transfer them to the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
- When ready to serve, take the set creams out of the fridge and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Use a blowtorch to melt the sugar and glaze each dessert. Segment the lemons, place the segments on a metal baking tray, then use the blowtorch to char them. This will give a lovely toasted flavour to the lemon.
- Place the lemon segments on top of the glazed creams with a sprig of lemon verbena and serve.
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