Apricot Creme Brûlée Recipe

A little twist and you can turn your classic creme brulee into this fruity apricot creme brûlée. This French dessert is custard-based baked in a water bath then torched with sugar to create a glass-like caramel top. It takes just 10 minutes to prep with 30 minutes to bake.

For me, Creme Brûlée and Tiramisu are date night desserts. There are few desserts that are pretty to look at as they are delicious. I always associate them with being classy and exotic. I love the classic Creme Brûlée.

And yet, this time I wanted to make something different. I love the flavor of apricots very much. I often use homemade apricot jam in my cake decorating. So it's one of those fruits I truly love very much. It's sweet, tart and pulpy too!

Why make this dessert

• If you love custards, then you must try this recipe. The baking gives this dessert a smooth and velvety texture.
• This dessert needs only five main ingredients. And it is easier than pies, tarts, or cakes. Yes!! You can of course omit the apricot puree to make the classic creme brulee or add Pumpkin puree instead.
• Compared to most other desserts this one has fewer steps with just 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of baking.
• It needs a few hours of chilling which makes it the perfect dessert for entertaining.
• There are just two components to this dessert
  • The custard - Made with hot cream and eggs along with sugar and vanilla. It is baked in a water batch which keeps it rich, creamy, and smooth.
  • The Brulee top - this is burnt sugar on top of the custard base. It is done just before serving and takes as little as 2 minutes.

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Ingredients and substitutes

• Cream - This dessert is always made with cream as it bakes thick and rich.
  • You can replace half of the cream with milk or half and half (cream/milk). The custard will still set, but it will be less rich. Lighter with a little jiggle to it.
  • Alternatively, if using milk you can add one tbsp of cornstarch which will help add firmness.
• Egg Yolks - the use of egg yolks is what makes the baked custard thick and creamy, unlike, creme caramel flan where we use a combination of eggs and egg yolks.
• Sugar - It's best to use fine-grain sugar (like castor) when making any custard-based dessert. The fine sugar dissolves quickly and easily. You can use light brown sugar for the top brulee if you prefer. It adds a nice warm molasses flavor.
• Vanilla - custard-based desserts such as this are usually always made with real vanilla bean caviar (seeds) as it adds a nice strong vanilla flavor as well as reduces the egg smell. Having said that, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or vanilla sugar can be used just as well.
• Apricots - I am using fresh apricot puree here because apricots are in season at the moment. And yet, frozen work just as well. Just blend them in a blender and sieve to remove the fiber.

Step by step instructions

[wprm-recipe-video

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• Preheat the oven to 300°F/ 150°C / Gas Mark 2
• Place a paper hand towel in a roasting pan with 6 x 4 oz ramekins
  Pro tip - the paper hand towel will prevent the ramekins from moving around - Set aside.

Apricot Puree

• Blanch Apricot - Wash apricot and score the skin with a knife before you blanch them. Place them in a pot of hot water. Let them simmer in the hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. You will see the skin just starts to peel off. Immediately place them in a bowl of cold water.
• When cool enough to touch, peel them. Cut the fruit in half, remove seed and pulse them in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a sieve and set aside. Use the amount required in your recipe.
  Pro tip - straining through a sieve will remove the fruit fiber which will give a smooth velvety texture to the custard mixture.

Custard mixture

• In a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, vanilla bean scraping, and salt to an almost boil.
  Pro tip - to use the vanilla bean caviar (seeds), split the bean in half length way, scrape the insides with the back of a knife and add it to the pan along with the bean.
• In a separate bowl combine egg yolks and sugar. Add apricot puree and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Pour the hot cream mixture gradually into the egg mixture a few tablespoons at a time stirring continuously. Strain thru a sieve to remove any curdled eggs
  Pro tip - this is called tempering the eggs. It is important to pour the milk gradually to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Bake Creme Brulee

• Divide the mixture equally between the prepared ramekins. Place the roasting pan on a larger baking tray.
• Pour enough water in the roasting pan to come to almost ½ way up outside the ramekins
  Pro tip - this is called baking in a water bath. The water outside will create steam and bake the custard without curdling.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
  Once baked - remove from the oven, cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight (up to 3 days)

Caramelize the top

• When ready to serve, sprinkle about 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar over each ramekin.
  Pro tip - this step must be done before serving, otherwise, the caramel will soften in the fridge due to condensation.
• Spread evenly by swirling the ramekin in your hand. Shake off any excess and clean the rim.
  Pro tip - wipe the rim of the ramekin with a paper hand towel to remove any sugar, otherwise, you will have brunt sugar on the edges which does not give a clean finish.
• Carefully caramelize the sugar using a blowtorch. The sugar should turn amber and smooth but also hard which cracks like glass when eating.
  Pro tip - Pass the flame of the blowtorch over the sugar in a circular motion to get a more even caramel color.

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Frequently asked questions

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