July 18 & 27, 2010: Twice-shy chocolate crème brûlée

July's calendar recipe promised to be quite a treat - chocolate crème brûlée!  With my first under-the-grill vegan crème brûlée working out quite well last winter, I was pretty sure I could get this right.  The custard was no problem, essentially just chocolate and cream thickened and set with egg yolks.  But I found I had to re-learn the process of caramelising that toffee sugar crust.  (Incidentally, did you know that the crème brûlée's sugar crust was originally burned using not a blow torch, but using a specially designed iron? Very cool, but probably one for the 'inessential utensils' list.)

I was careful to ensure the grill was very hot before sliding the cold custard cups in, yet still found that the custard edges burned badly before the sugar had melted.  I unhappily scraped the top centimetre off each serving before digging in to the still-delicious custard. 

On my second attempt, where I developed a vegan and gluten-free version using coconut milk and arrowroot, I used a thicker layer of sugar in an attempt to protect the custard from burning.  It mostly worked, though I was reluctant to let the sugar brown to hard toffee and risk more charred custard.  The glassy surface you see above was nicely crunchy but really too thick and sweet and no complement to the rich chocolate at all.

And that's the conclusion I ultimately came to - both versions of the baked custard are magnificent and they don't need any kind of sugar coating.  Instead I'd be more inclined to seek out a fruity accompaniment in future.

Chocolate crème brûlée, original recipe

100g dark chocolate
200mL cream
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup castor sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
pinch of salt
1-2 tablespoons Cointreau

Preheat the oven to 120°C.  Arrange 3-4 ramekins or oven-proof cups in a roasting tray, and set a kettle full of water on to boil.

Gently melt together the chocolate and cream in a saucepan.  In a small-medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale.  Whisk in the chocolate mixture, salt and Cointreau.  Pour the custard into the cups, ideally straining it as you go, making sure to leave at least 1cm of space at the top.  (I found that my custards expanded in the oven and deflated again while cooling.)

Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the roasting tray so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake the custards for 25-30 minutes, until they're set through but still a little wobbly.  Allow the custards to cool on the bench and then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

For the toffee top (which I don't especially recommend), sprinkle a teaspoon of castor sugar on each custard and swish it around gently to coat the top evenly. Bring a grill to its hottest heat and place the custards under it for a minute or two - the aim is to melt and brown the sugar without burning the custard.  Keep a close eye on the custards and remove them promptly.  Allow the crème brûlées a minute or two to cool so that the sugar hardens again before serving.

Chocolate crème brûlée, vegan & gluten free

100g dark chocolate
400mL coconut milk
1/3 cup castor sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon arrowroot

Preheat the oven to 120°C.  Arrange 3 ramekins or oven-proof cups in a roasting tray, and set a kettle full of water on to boil.

Gently melt together the chocolate, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan.   When it's all smooth and well mixed, whisk in the arrowroot.  Pour the custard into the cups, ideally straining it as you go, making sure to leave at least 1cm of space at the top. 

Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the roasting tray so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake the custards for 25-30 minutes, until they're set through but still a little wobbly.  Allow the custards to cool on the bench and then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

For the toffee top (which I don't especially recommend), sprinkle a teaspoon of castor sugar on each custard and swish it around gently to coat the top evenly. Bring a grill to its hottest heat and place the custards under it for a minute or two - the aim is to melt and brown the sugar without burning the custard.  Keep a close eye on the custards and remove them promptly.  Allow the crème brûlées a minute or two to cool so that the sugar hardens again before serving.