Porcini Crème Brûlée

Slofoodgroup Team May 15, 2024

Crème Brûlée with Porchini

No one can resist the pleasure of breaking the crunchy caramel layer of a crème brûlée, right? But what about breaking that sugary layer to find a rich, decadent and surprising custard? We infused our crème brûlée with porcini mushrooms, to create an unexpected twist to this classic French Dessert. It has to be porcini mushrooms and not any mushrooms, as it has a very unique, umami-like, earthy flavor that pairs the cream perfectly in this dessert.

How to Make Porcini Crème Brûlée

Ingredients

• 2 dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp white granulated sugar, to sprinkle on top

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F.
2. Bring a kettle or a small pot with water on a boil.
3. In a saucepan, combine the mushrooms, cream, and salt, and heat slowly to a simmer; once it starts simmering remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract to the mixture; stir well and set aside.
4. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined; remove about 1-4 cup of the warm cream mixture and, in a slow and steady stream, pour over the eggs while continuously mixing to avoid curdling.
5. Once the eggs are tempered, slowly add them to the cream mixture while stirring constantly.
6. Place 4 creme brûlée ramekins in a large baking pan; divide the custard equally between each ramekin and carefully fill the pan with the boiling water.
7. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake at 160C/325F for about 30 minutes or until it's set around the edges and still a bit jiggly in the middle.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack; allow to cool down completely.
9. Once cooled down completely, add a thin layer of sugar on top of each ramekin and caramelize it with a kitchen blowtorch; alternatively, the sugar can be caramelized under the broiler at the highest settings for 3-5 min.