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Escoffier’s berry creme brulee

55 min • 6 servings •
Jason Clampet

55 min •     6 servings•

Jason Clampet

Caramelized crème brûlée topped with a raspberry and mint, with raspberries and cream in the background on a wooden counter.

French cooking tends to involve much too much work for me to consider trying anything classically French at home. But recently I decided to set aside my preference for the simple and spend a day at the culinary school started by and named for the king of all French chefs, Georges-Auguste Escoffier’s Ecole Ritz Escoffier. It’s not really a day of learning so much as it is a morning of cooking and an afternoon of eating with the chef and the assistant.

This is the easiest of the three courses our class made (the other two were a prawn gazpacho with a seafood stock-infused cream and a roasted turbot over risotto). Even though it was the creme was the last dish we ate, there was nothing left of it on anyone’s plate.

Ready

  • 12 egg yolks
  • 160g superfine sugar
  • 4 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
  • ½ liter cream
  • ½ liter milk
  • 1 pint raspberries (or any seasonal berry of similar size)
  • raw sugar
  • 6 sprigs of mint

    • Set

  • paring knife
  • medium saucepan
  • mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • sieve
  • bowl with spout
  • 6 ramekins of 5” diameter
  • high sided baking tray
  • blowtorch

    • Go!

  • If you’re preparing dessert to eat today, pre-heat oven 200°F
  • Scrape the insides of the vanilla beans with a small paring knife and combine with milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • Let cool for 15 minutes.
  • In the meantime, whisk yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes wispy and a light pale yellow.
  • Once the milk and vanilla mixture has cooled, add the cream and stir well.
  • Now whisk in the yolk and sugar mixture and stir until combined.
  • Pour through sieve into second bowl. (If you’re making the mixture a day in advance, cover and refrigerate it now).
  • Place ramekins on the baking tray.
  • Space berries out on the bottom of the ramekins, dividing them evenly. Set aside 6 berries for topping.
  • Pour cream mixture into ramekins.
  • Bake creams in oven for 20 minutes.
  • To test doneness, open the oven and gently rock the baking tray. If more than just the middle of the cream wiggles, keep in oven for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature.
  • Sprinkle raw sugar on the top of the creams.
  • If you have a blowtorch, light it and caramelize the tops of the creams by passing the torch over each one until the tops brown and begin to bubble.
  • Let cool slightly.
  • Top each one with a reserved berry and a sprig of mint.

    • Recommendations

    If you keep the cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight the vanilla will permeate the liquid. You can substitute the vanilla for any other fragrant herb you want; lavender, for instance.
    If you don’t have a blowtorch, you can broil the creams 3 inches from the heat source until they turn brown. But remember to let them cool after baking before you try to broil them.

    cream raspberry

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