Recipe to go - by Jennifer Klinec
Jennifer Klinec runs Eat, Drink, Talk which offers cooking classes and events for individuals, and tailor-made classes for groups, in Clerkenwell, in the heart of central London. Her classes are taught in a relaxed, informal environment with an infectious enthusiasm for quality ingredients and seasonal food and teach people how to prepare dishes that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen, as we found out.
All Eat Drink Talk classes are suitable for novice cooks as well as enthusiasts and we're delighted that Jennifer will be bringing her globe-trotting, recipe-reaping experience to us on a regular basis.
Chai-spiced Crème Brulee
"I don’t think people realise just how easy crème brulee is to make, and the method in this recipe makes it even easier. It is really just a case of mix, pour and bake. Many recipes tell you to bake your crème brulees in a water bath, but I find that baking them in a very low oven (100C) for longer makes for a nicer texture and spares you having to mess around with a heavy tray full of hot water.
Once you master the basics, crème brulee really does become a bit of a creative medium for further experimenting. In this recipe I like to infuse the milk and cream with a tea bag and chai spices, but you can infuse the milk with lots of other flavours. I’ve known chefs who infuse their milk with rhubarb, black pepper, stem ginger and even bashed up pine needles. Just remember to strain everything out before you pour everything into the molds, or if you like your crème brulee chunky – leave it in!
The secret to a nice thick, ice rink of a sugar crust on a crème brulee is 2 things – lots of sugar and a good sized blowtorch. Try and get yourself a plumbers blowtorch from a hardware shop. Those tiny ones you buy at kitchen shops are good for lighting cigarettes and not much else."
Makes 8 crème brulees
Ingredients
100 mls whole milk
600 mls heavy cream
8 egg yolks
100 grams castor sugar
Extra castor sugar for sprinkling
Chai-Spice Mix
1 small piece cinnamon bark or stick
4 cardamom pods
3 cloves
a one inch chunk of ginger root, peeled and finely grated
1 black tea bag
Instructions
Place the whole spices in a dry frying pan on low heat and toast for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Combine the spices, ginger, tea bag, milk and cream in a medium saucepan and heat gently until hot.Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool and then strain
Preheat the oven to 100 C.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy and then whisk in the cooled cream mixture. Pour the egg mixture into small 3-inch ramekins. If you want to make 'freestanding' creme brulees (see photo), pour the mixture instead into silicon moulds, follow the instructions below and then freeze them overnight. Then pop the frozen brulees out of the moulds and thaw them on attractive plates in the fridge for 5-6 hours before sprinkling with sugar and torching
Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for 1 – 1 1/4 hours until thickened but still wobbly. Remove, cool and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.
Just before serving, sprinkle the top of each portion with a thin layer of castor sugar. Caramelise the sugar with a blowtorch until the sugar is melted and browned. Allow to cool and add more sugar and caramelise until the desired colour is reached. Serve immediately.
