This is the simplest of desserts to make at home, and is always popular. Here at The Lodge we make this with local eggs and we forage for the meadowsweet in the summer months. You can use elderflower cordial instead. This recipe calls for it to be served in ramekins; at the Lodge we serve it in egg shells with lavender shortbread soliders.
Jonathan Keane is head chef at the Lodge at Ashford Castle, in Co Mayo
MEADOWSWEET CREME BRULEE
Serves four
Ingredients
500ml cream
100g meadowsweet flowers (or a few drops of elderflower cordial)
1 vanilla pod
6 free range egg yolks
50g caster sugar
More sugar for caramelising the top
Method
1 Split the vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out and add both the seeds and the pod to the cream and the meadowsweet.
2 Bring the cream to the boil, then remove from the heat and let it sit for five minutes to infuse.
3 Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale.
4 Strain the hot cream into the eggs, using a sieve, and whisking all the time.
5 Strain the mixture again through a fine sieve.
6 Pour the mixture into four ramekins and put them in a bain marie (place the ramekins in a deep baking tray half filled with hot water for form a water bath). Cook for 30 minutes, or until just set, in a 160 degrees oven.
7 Allow to cool for two hours, at least.
8 Cover the tops of the custards with a thin layer of sugar and brûlée it using a blowtorch or a very hot grill.
Kitchen Cabinet is a series of recipes from chefs who are members of Euro-Toques Ireland, who have come together during the coronavirus outbreak to share some of the easy, tasty things that they like to cook and eat at home #ChefsAtHome
