Creme Brulee with Warm Cherries and Chocolate Sauce

Products Used

Creme Brelee with Warm Cherries and Chocolate Sauce

By Chef Eddy Van Damme

Prep Time:

30m

Bake/Cook Time:

50m - 70m

Yield:

6 - 8 servings

Creme Brulee with Warm Cherries and Chocolate Sauce is the ultimate fancy dessert you'd treat yourself to after a special dinner. Imagine a sweet, creamy custard with a top layer of hard caramel. It's cool and smooth, with a satisfying crunch when you crack into the caramel with your spoon. That sugary, slightly burnt taste of the caramel combined with the velvety custard is a classic pairing that's hard to beat. But then, add warm cherries to the mix that have been cooked to make them soft and super juicy. When you spoon them onto the crème brûlée, they're slightly tart and fruity, and their warmth creates a wonderful contrast with the cool, creamy custard. And finally, there's the chocolate sauce. Rich, dark, and decadent, it adds a whole new dimension of indulgence. The slightly bitter taste of the chocolate balances the sweetness of the rest of the dessert and complements the cherries really well.

Rating:

Rate it yourself

Products Used

Ingredients

Creme Brulee

1 cup milk
3 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Dark Brown Sugar
10 egg yolks
For caramalizing surface: 1/3 cup Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar

Cherries

1 pound fresh cherries
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
2 tablespoons cherry liqueur, optional
Chocolate Ganache or Sauce
Imperial Sugar Confectioners Powdered Sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile cut vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape seeds out using a small knife. Place vanilla bean and its content into cream mixture and remove from heat when it reached a boil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. If using vanilla extract add after mixture has cooled.
Combine sugars and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk rapidly until smooth and well combined. While whisking gradually add boiled mixture.
Set ramekins into a roasting pan. Pour crème brûlée mixture into ramekins. Pour water into roasting pan until it comes halfway up sides of ramekins.
Place in oven and bake until center of ramekins no longer tremble. About 50 to 70 minutes, time will depend on depth of ramekins used.
When cool enough to handle remove ramekins from roasting pan and place in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Remove from refrigerator and cover surface of crème brûlée with a thin even coating of granulated sugar.
Torch surface using a blow torch to melt and consequently caramelize sugar.
Remove pits from cherries using a cherry/olive pitter, reserve some cherries with stem intact for decoration.
Melt butter in a pan and add sugar. Add cherries and stir until thoroughly heated. Add liqueur if using and swirl around.
Using a spoon, arrange cherries on crème brûlée. Decorate with fresh cherries and if desired, sprinkle with confectioners powdered sugar. Serve with warm chocolate sauce.

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Bree Hester

May 20, 2014

I thought that creme brulee was hard to make until I made this recipe. Not hard at all, and I love the cherry on top to add some texture. A great recipe.