Ingredients
For four people
Eight passion fruit
110g caster sugar
20ml water
Five egg yolks
500ml double cream
A little icing sugar to dust
At the restaurant we have, over time, tried one or two variations on the theme of the classic crème brûlée including chocolate and raspberry versions. Recently I came up with this passion fruit crème brûlée. Rubbing the passion fruit purée through a fine sieve to dispose of the seeds may seem a little fiddly, but it is well worth it for the wonderful flavour and texture in the final dish.
Passion fruit crème brûlée
1 Preheat the oven to 125ºC.
2 Prepare the passion fruit purée. Halve the passion fruit and scrape out all the flesh and seeds into a small saucepan. Add the sugar and the water and bring to the boil over a fast heat.
3 Simmer for about 30 seconds, whisking all the time.
4 Allow to cool a little, then rub the mixture vigorously through a fine sieve to yield the passion fruit purée and leave the seeds behind. Discard the seeds and cool the purée to room temperature.
5 Place the egg yolks in a large bowl with the purée and mix.
6 In a fresh saucepan, heat the cream to just below simmering point, then pour onto the egg yolk mixture, stirring all the time.
7 Pour the resulting custard into four shallow ramekins and cook in a water bath in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes until just set. Once cooked, remove from the water bath and chill until needed.
8 Just before serving, dust the brûlées with icing sugar and caramelise with a blow torch for an authentic crunchy topping.
Dr Duckham is a GP in Tongue and Armadale, Sutherland, and runs Restaurant Cote du Nord, Farr Bay Inn, Sutherland. www.farrbayinn.co.uk. Please email your comments or queries to GPlife@haymarket.com
And for the wine
Elegusto recommends:
This sweet, creamy recipe, with the slight tartness of the passion fruit, needs a wine that is sweet but with a good vein of acidity.
Riesling Spatlese, Schloss Vollrads 2001 (£16.95)
A perfect sweet Riesling with its classic acidity. The aromas and flavours are peachy and accented with mineral and subtle spice notes. A most stylish and lingering wine.
Jurançon Moelleux Séléction des Terrasses, Domaine Larredya 2001 (£16.10)
Pure peaches and cream. Made from Petit Manseng grapes and matured in wood. Powerful yet elegant, citrus, almost lemony, honeyed but with a firm acidity making the wine rich in the mouth.
To get 10 per cent off these and all wines from Elegusto, go to www.elegusto.co.uk and use the promotional code ‘healthcare’.
