Coffee Creme Brûlée

Coffee Creme Brûlée

Creme Brûlée is one of my favorite desserts, when made right. The custard have to be velvety smooth with a nice crusty caramel on top. I like my Creme Brûlée to be a thin layer of custard, this gives the best custard to caramel ratio for my taste. This recipe is just perfect. Thank you David Lebovitz.

If you want a vanilla custard instead for coffee you can replace the instant coffee and kahlua with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste. The paste might color the custard a bit.

Makes 4.

Ingredients:

• 330 ml (1 ⅓ cup) heavy whipping cream

• 160 ml (⅔ cup) whole milk

• 50 g (¼ cup) sugar + extra for caramelizing

• 1 pinch salt

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, I used Seabright from Verve

• 2 teaspoons Kahlua coffee liqueur

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 300℉ (150 ℃).

Place the 4 shallow gratin dishes on a high-rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Boil some water in a kettle, to get it ready, for when the custard goes into the oven.

Heat the cream, milk, sugar, salt in a saucepan over medium heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl large enough to hold both eggs and milk/cream mixture. Gradually add the warm cream mixture in the yolks while stirring, until the cream is completely incorporated. Do not whisk vigorously, you don’t want to create foam. Mix in instant coffee and kahlua. Strain the mixture into a jug or measuring cup with a sprout, trying to create as little foam on top as possible. I removed the little foam, that did come on the surface with a spoon.

Gently divide the mixture between the 4 dishes, removing any foam created on the surface before placing the baking sheet in the oven. Pour enough hot water in the baking sheet, so it reaches halfway up the sides of the gratin dishes. Bake the dishes for 20-25 minutes, until they are just set, watch them closely the last few minutes. You are looking for a slight quiver when you try to jiggle them. Be careful when you remove them from the oven. I used a blaster to remove most of the water, and then used some kitchen towel to lift the dishes. Chill the custard in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

Just before serving, sprinkle the custards with an even layer of sugar, about 1½ teaspoon for each is what you need. Working on one custard at a time, use a blowtorch to wave the flame over the custard until the sugar melts and becomes brown, make sure that the caramel spreads all over the top, but handle it with care, because the melted sugar is extremely hot. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Blueberry & White Chocolate Scones

Blueberry & White Chocolate Scones

I love scones, especially when they are light and fluffy. Maybe it’s wrong, to talk about a light scone, given they contain a lot of butter and cream 😁 But these feel very light.

Makes 8 scones.

Ingredients:

• 300 g all-purpose flour

• 50 g sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 60 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 150 g blueberries

• 125 g white chocolate, coarsely chopped, I used Valrhona

• 190 ml heavy whipping cream + extra for brushing

• 1 egg

• coarse sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Add the dry ingredients and the vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix the butter into the dry ingredients with your hands or the paddle attachment (flat beater), until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Gently mix in the blueberries and chocolate. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 355℉ (180℃), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the egg into the heavy whipping cream. Pour the mixture into a well in the cooled dry ingredients. Gently mix the dough with a fork, until just mixed together. Be careful not to overmix. Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your finger to gently press the dough into a disc 8-inch (20 cm) in diameter and about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Slice the disc into 8 wedges, and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Brush each wedge with cold cream, and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake the scones for 22-25 minutes until they a light golden.

Let the scones cool for about 15 minutes before sinking your teeth into them.

Enjoy!

Almond Horn - Nøddehorn

Almond horns - Mandelhorn

These horns are one of my husbands favorites, and somehow I just got around to bake them today. It took a pandemic before I made these for him. Poor guy.

This is basically a kransekage rolled in sliced almonds and dipped in chocolate, so what's not to like??

The horns do freeze well, but defrost them slowly in the refrigerator.

Makes 12.

Ingredients:

• 400 g almond paste (marzipan or almond paste with more than 60% almonds)

• 100 g confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)

• 1 egg white

• 75-100 g sliced almonds

• dark chocolate (tempered)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Mix almond paste, sugar, and egg whites well. Roll the ‘dough’ into 2 logs the size of a thick thumb. Cut each log into 6 pieces. Somehow I ended up with only 11 🤷‍♀️

Roll each pice in sliced almonds, bend them slightly and place them on a parchment paper lined baking pan.

Bake the horns for 12 -15 minutes until they a very light golden. Let the horns cool down on a wirerack before dipping the ends in tempered chocolate.

Enjoy!

No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti with no-cook tomato sauce.

Some of my neighbors gifted me some beautiful tomatoes from their yard. Right away I knew that I had to try making the no-cook tomato sauce, I had found on the Bon Appetite website a while ago. Next to eating a warm tomato straight from the plant, this sauce might be one of the best ways to eat tomatoes. And boy were I right. This sauce is honoring the flavors of the tomato, by complementing them without overpowering therm.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

• 750 g ripe tomatoes

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 4 teaspoons champagne vinegar

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 60 ml olive oil

• 113 g Parmesan cheese

• salt to taste

• 1 handful basil, chopped

Directions:

Remove the seeds from the tomatoes, this is easily done by cutting the tomatoes in half through the equator, instead of through the core. Then gently squeeze the tomatoes like you would squeeze a lemon to discard the seeds.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and transfer them to a large wide bowl. Mash the tomatoes with a fork or a potato masher, to release the juices. Add half the cheese, butter, vinegar, pepper, garlic, oil, combine and season with salt. Let the sauce sit covered on the kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes (not more than 3 hours) allowing the favors to blend.

Boil pasta according to instructions on packaging. Save some of the pasta water to stretch the sauce.

Add basil to the sauce and season it again. Mix in the hot pasta, and serve immediately with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Piccalilli - Pickles

Piccalilli.

Pickles, Piccalilli or chow chow, this delicious condiment is called different thing, in different places. Growing up it was a weird sour mustardy thing my dad loved, but as an adult I realized it was a delicious, sweet & sour, curry, mustard sauce with lovely crunchy vegetables. It’s pairs very well with meats, especially with a pariserbøf. But I also like piccalilli as a condiment with grilled sausages.

Previously I’d bought piccalilli, but after trying the homemade version, I won’t go back. The flavors are great, and the part of knowing what’s in it, is really nice.

Makes 8-10 small jars.

Ingredients:

1000 g vegetables, diced small

• 300 g cauliflower

• 100 g summer squash

• 100 g carrots

• 100 g fennel

• 100 g shallots

• 120 g green beans

• 130 g red bell pepper

• 50 g celery

• 50 g salt

Pickling juice:

• 320 ml vinegar

• 200 ml water

• 150 g sugar

• 40 g honey

Spice Paste:

• 50 g corn starch

• 3 teaspoons curry

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 4 teaspoons Colman’s mustard powder

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 100 ml vinegar

Makes 8-10 small jars.

Directions:

Depending on how coarse you like your piccalilli, you can dice the vegetables in about ⅕-⅖ -inch (½-1 cm) pieces, or blitz them in a food processor. I like to be able to se what kind of vegetables I’m eating, so I do a coarser chop.

Wash and peel the vegetables, before chopping them. Mix the chopped vegetables with salt, and place them covered in refrigerator over night.

Prepare the jars and lids by cleaning them and scolding them in boiling water. Rinse them in a conserving agent, (I used a Danish conserving agent called Atamon, sodium benzoate) or rinse them in a 100 proof vodka.

Rinse the vegetables thoroughly in lots of water, drain them well. You can dry the vegetables on kitchen towels.

Make the paste in a bowl or a mini food chopper, making sure to get a homogeneous mixture. Set aside.

Heat the vinegar, water, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in some tablespoons of the warm vinegar in the spice paste, two times, before adding all of the paste to the warm vinegar. Bring the vinegar to a boil while whisking. The vinegar will now thicken to a sauce, and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the sauce and let them get about 1-2 minutes of heat, before jarring.

Keep the piccalilli in the refrigerator for about 6 weeks before serving, giving the flavors time to mellow out and blend.

The Piccalilli will keep 6 months in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!