Banana Ginger And Berry Creme Brulee Recipes

BANANA, GINGER, AND BERRY CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Warm half-and-half in a saucepan until almost boiling and set aside to cool. In a bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until mixture turns pale. Slowly beat in small amounts of warm half-and-half until all is incorporated. Set custard mixture aside. Peel 1 1/2 bananas and slice thin, reserving other 1/2 banana for later. Wash berries.
• Place some banana slices and a few berries in the bottom of 8 individual ramekins or custard cups. Sprinkle ground ginger evenly over bananas in each cup. Pour custard over fruit in each cup.
• Place ramekins in baking pan. Add water to about halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake for 1 hour or until tops are golden. Cool in refrigerator. Top each cooled ramekin with a few slices of the remaining banana. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place ramekins under broiler until sugar is melted and brown.
• Garnish with remaining berries and 1 or 2 leaves of fresh mint.

BANANA CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the bananas, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Stir well to blend the sugar and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. The bananas should be lightly caramelized. Mash the bananas with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the lemon juice to the mixture, raise the heat to high, add the brandy, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, divide among 6 wide, shallow creme brulee dishes, and let cool. Place the heavy cream in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the cream with the tip of a knife. Add the scraped-out vanilla bean, and bring the cream just to a boil, then remove from heat. Reserve. Place the egg yolks and 5 tablespoons of white sugar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk them together, then stir over simmering water until the mixture becomes fairly thick (about 15 minutes). Strain the reserved cream into eggs, and stir the mixture over simmering water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and ladle over the cooled banana puree in the 6 dishes. Place the dishes in a roasting pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the dishes from the pan, and chill them for at least 3 hours.
• When you are ready to serve, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar over each dish, distributing evenly. Place the dishes on a bed of cracked ice in a roasting pan, and position the pan under a broiler until the sugar caramelizes. Watch carefully, and move the dishes around so the sugar browns evenly but doesn't char. Remove and serve while the crust is still hot.

GINGER AND VANILLA BEAN CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Make custard:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Place three 4-inch-diameter fluted flan dishes* in each of two 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pans or place six 3/4-cup ramekins in 1 pan. Mix cream, sugar and ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Using small sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean. Add seeds and bean to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer. Cover pan, reduce heat to very low and simmer gently 10 minutes to infuse flavors. Strain into large measuring cup.
• Whisk yolks in medium bowl until well blended. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture just to blend. Return custard to measuring cup; divide among dishes. Pour enough hot water into pans to come halfway up sides of dishes. Carefully transfer pans to oven.
• Bake custards until almost set in center when pans are gently shaken, about 30 minutes for fluted flan dishes and 35 minutes for ramekins. Using metal spatula, transfer custards in dishes to work surface; cool 30 minutes. Chill at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
• Make Crème Brûlée:
• Sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar evenly over each custard. Working with 1 custard at a time, hold blowtorch** so that flame is 2 inches above surface. Direct flame so that sugar melts and browns, about 2 minutes.
• Refrigerate until custards are firm again but topping is still brittle, at least 2 hours but no longer than 4 hours so that topping doesn't soften. Garnish crème brûlées with fruit.
• *Four-inch-diameter fluted clear glass flan dishes are available at cookware stores and many hardware stores. They are about 2/3 inch deep and hold about 1/2 cup liquid.
• **Available at some cookware stores.

GINGER CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Mix egg yolks, eggs and 6 ounces of sugar until combined. Heat the cream to scalding, add ginger and gradually pour into egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and salt.
• Using creme brulee molds or another baking ramekin evenly distribute mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish and fill dish half way up with water, creating a water bath.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes or until set. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of molds after they have cooled. Place molds under broiler to caramelize sugar. Garnish with mint leaves.