In this recipe, we fuse classic French techniques with Asian influences to create a delicious dessert. Coconut flakes play a delightful role in various Asian desserts, from Japanese coconut mochi to Thai coconut rice pudding. Let’s add an exotic Asian touch to the traditional French Crème Brûlée.
Ingredients for 3-4 servings in 150-200 ml jars:
- 400 ml of 33% cream
- 4 yolks of large eggs
- 40 gr (icing) sugar
- A pinch of salt (optional)
- 1 cup of coconut flakes
- 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar
Preparation instructions:
- Beat yolks and sugar:
- In a bowl, beat egg yolks and icing sugar for 2-3 minutes (or 5-6 minutes if using regular sugar) until light and pale in colour.
- Infuse coconut flavour:
- Pour cream into a saucepan.
- Add coconut flakes and stir over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove cream from heat and strain well.
- Combine cream and egg yolks:
- Gradually pour warm cream into beaten egg yolks, stirring until smooth.
- Strain mixture through a fine sieve to remove air bubbles and egg white clots.
- Rest for 10 minutes.
- Sous-vide cooking:
- Fill jars about 1-1.5 cm from the top, and seal them.
- Set the sous-vide temperature to 80 degrees.
- Lower jars into water and cook for 60 minutes.
- Chill and caramelise:
- Refrigerate the jars for 2 hours.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly on top of each jar, and caramelise with a kitchen torch. Enjoy!
You can prepare Coconut Crème Brûlée in the oven, without a torch and sous-vide:
- Prepare the mixture:
- Set the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
- Follow steps 1-4 from the instructions above to create the mixture of egg yolks, cream, and sugar.
- Pour the mixture into ramekins (small ceramic dishes).
- Bake crème brûlées in the oven:
- Place the ramekins in an oven-safe dish.
- Fill the dish with boiling water, until it reaches about 2/3 the height of the ramekins.
- Put the dish with the ramekins in the oven, and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the ramekins from the oven, when they are set around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the centre.
- Chill and caramelise:
- Refrigerate the crème brûlées for 3-4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly on top of each ramekin.
- Place the ramekins in an oven tray on the top shelf.
- Watch closely as they broil – it only takes 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the crème brûlées from the oven and enjoy!
