Blood Orange Crème Brûlée with Roasted Rhubarb
Ingredients
For the crème brûlée:
75g golden caster sugar, plus more to sprinkle
6 egg yolks
600ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
1 blood orange, zest and juice
2-3 tbsp Cointreau
For the rhubarb:
500g rhubarb
40g golden caster sugar
2 blood oranges
A recipe from my first cookbook, COOK, by Harper Collins, this orange-hued brulée with its orange citrus notes is not only delicious to eat but looks a treat with some vivid pink poached rhubarb. A sensational pudding for the month of March.
Recipe
Heat the oven to 150 fan 170C/325F/gas mark 3.
In a bowl, beat the sugar and egg yolks, then put to one side.
Pour the cream into a saucepan, add the vanilla pod and seeds and also the orange zest and juice and finally the Cointreau. Place over a medium heat and slowly bring to a boil. As soon as you can see small bubbles forming around the edges, take off the heat.
Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar. Whisk a generous splash of the hot cream into the egg mix and, once incorporated, slowly whisk in the rest. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds into the cream (reserving the pod to flavour caster sugar) then pour the mixture into a round baking dish, 24-26cm wide.
Pour boiling water into the baking tray so that it comes halfway up the sides of the custard dish and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until set but still with a light wobble in the middle (it will set more in the fridge). Immediately remove the custard dish from the tray of hot water and set aside to cool.
While the crème brûlée is cooking, slice the rhubarb in 4-5cm batons and lay in a single layer in an oven proof dish. Remove the peel of the oranges in long thin strips with a knife or a peeler. Sprinkle with the sugar and add the orange peel and juice. Cover with foil and add to the oven with the creme brûlée for the last 15 minutes of cooking time until the rhubarb is tender but still holding its shape.
To finish the brûlée turn the grill to its highest temperature. Sprinkle a generous few millimetres of sugar over the cream and grill until bubbling and starting to blacken. You could also use a blow torch. Put in the fridge to set for at least a few hours or overnight. Serve with the pink rhubarb.
