There is no doubt that creme brulee is a delight to indulge in. The sweet creamy vanilla custard is only enhanced by the crunchy scorched sugar on top.
I decided to take my recipe one step further by making a white chocolate creme brulee infused with lavender. The sweetness of the white chocolate is balanced out by the floral citrusy taste of lavender.
And now I know it might sound incredibly intimidating and somewhat off-putting to imagine consuming something floral. However, let me assure you this white chocolate lavender creme brulee recipe will blow your mind. The best part is that this recipe makes enough for 2 so it is the perfect date night recipe. However feel free to double it or even triple it to serve more.
MIXING THE FLAVOURS
The base of any creme brulee is your sugar, egg yolks, cream, and vanilla. These flavours on their own are absolutely delicious. However, I wanted to enhance these flavours by infusing white chocolate and lavender. The white chocolate does increase the sweetness but it also makes the creme brulee even creamier.
On the other hand, my inspiration for the infusion of lavender stemmed from two things. The first being this delicious rhubarb lavender parfait I indulged in at a quaint French restaurant in town. My other inspiration was summer. I wanted to capture these two feelings and place them into my creme brulee.
When I originally made the white chocolate lavender creme brulee, I added the lavender buds directly into my custard so that I could have a stronger lavender taste. At first, this worked out fine until I realized that the buds sank to the bottom which meant that we ended up eating buds of lavender. And let me tell you it does not taste good. So make sure that you strain the lavender syrup before placing it in the custard. You live and you learn right? 🙂
Once your ingredients are mixed. You will place the mixture into ramekin dishes, and place the ramekins into a water bath. Once your creme brulees are baked, you will let them cool in the fridge till they set and then you can work on the brulee of the sugar.
WHITE CHOCOLATE LAVENDER CREME BRULEE
White Chocolate Lavender Creme Brulee
This delicious and creamy creme brulee is enhanced with sweet white chocolate and citrusy lavender buds. This recipe makes enough for 2, so it is perfect for your next date night.
Ingredients
- 150 ml heavy cream (about 2/3 cups)
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (can substitute vanilla essence, or 1/2 a vanilla bean)
- 13 grams sugar (about 1 tbsp)
- 25 grams white chocolate
Lavender Simple Syrup
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tbsp lavender buds (make sure that is for culinary use. I use McCormick's!)
Instructions
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In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil. Lower the heat and add the egg yolks. Stir constantly until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon or spatula (about 5 or so minutes). The mixture should be thick. Remove from heat and add the sugar.
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Melt the white chocolate and transfer it into the custard mixture. Add in the lavender simple syrup. Divide the mixture evenly into two ramekin dishes.
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In a small casserole or oven safe dish, place the ramekin dishes inside. Slowly pour boiling water into the dish (avoid the creme brulees), until the water reaches halfway up the ramekins. Place the creme brulees into an oven that is preheated to 300 F). Cook for 35 - 40 minutes or until the creme brulees are set.
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Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Place the creme brulees in the fridge until ready to serve. When you are ready to serve, generously sprinkle cane sugar or brown sugar on top of the creme brulees. Using a kitchen torch, broil the tops of the creme brulees until the sugar is caramelised and is nice and brown.
Lavender Simple Syrup
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Combine ingredients into a small pan and bring to a boil. Remove off heat and strain the syrup into a small bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
Recipe Notes
Achieving that beautiful brulee seems intimidating, especially if you do not have a kitchen torch. Do not despair! This tutorial shows you Three Ways to Create That Brulee!
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Making creme brulee may seem daunting at first, but it is actually super easy. This is a no-frills recipe that really allows for each ingredient to speak for itself. I absolutely love how this recipe makes enough for two. However, if you are having a dinner party or have more people in your house, feel free to double, triple or even quadruple the recipe (for a total of 8 creme brulees).
If creme brulee isn’t your dessert of choice, feel free to check my 0ther perfect date idea desserts which include a mini chocolate Bailey’s cake or the perfect tiramisu.
