Mascarpone and ginger crème brûlée

There is much ado regarding the humble beginnings of this baked custard dish. The French claim it is theirs, but food historians say its origins lie in the kitchens of Cambridge University’s Trinity College.

Mascarpone and ginger crème brûlée. Credit: Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 450 ml (16fl oz) whipping or double cream
• 100 g (3 ½ oz) mascarpone
• Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 cm (4in) long, thumb-width piece of fresh ginger, peeled and very finely grated
• 6 egg yolks
• 60 g (2½ oz) soft light brown sugar, plus about 4–6 tbsp for the topping

Chilling time: at least one hour.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F / Gas Mark 2). Put 4 ramekins (about 250ml/9fl oz capacity) or 6 shallow dishes in a roasting tin along with enough hot water to come halfway up their sides. Put the cream, mascarpone and vanilla in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling, then remove the pan from the heat and add the ginger. Allow to steep for at least an hour.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 60 g sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the ginger cream, whisking all the time. I like to include the bits of ginger in the crème brûlée, but if you don’t want them, place a sieve over a measuring jug and pour the cream mix into it to sieve out the ginger. Using a wooden spoon, push the ginger mix left in the sieve to get as much flavour as you can, then discard the ginger bits.
3. Pour the cream mix equally into the shallow dishes, then place them (still in the roasting tin) in the oven for about 30 minutes (if you have used ramekins they may take slightly longer) or until the brûlées begin to set. They should still wobble like jelly in the very centre but should not be too liquid, nor completely set. It is very easy to overcook these so check after 20 minutes to see how they are doing. Then check every 5 minutes after that, as some ovens are much more powerful than others.
4. Remove the brûlées from the oven and from the roasting tin and leave to cool right down, then place in the fridge for at least 1 hour (you can also chill ‘til ready to serve – see Note).
5. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar evenly on the top of each brûlée, making sure the tops are completely covered. Using a cook’s blowtorch, caramelise the sugar until dark brown and crisp. A very hot grill works okay too, but a blowtorch is more fun. Leave to cool a little and then serve immediately.

Note

This is a brilliant dish for entertaining as you can bake the brûlées, then keep them in the fridge until ready to serve caramelise the tops and serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.