Lavender Creme Brulee & Earl Grey Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee Recipes
For you creme brulee fans out there, I have two recipes for you! One is a lavender-infused creme brulee, and the other is vanilla earl grey infused. My mom is the person I have to thank for teaching me how to make the perfect creme brulee. The texture is always amazing, the flavors are really good, and it always seems to come out perfect.
Tips: So I have a few tips to share from my mom Karen.
The Common Mistakes We Make
- The custard is tepid, and not cold
- The flavors are off
- The custard isn’t creamy and falls apart
- Cooked too long
Tips On The Perfect Creme Brulee
- Use heavy cream
- Do not overcook the custard
- Use fresh vanilla bean
- Use a kitchen towel to place on the bottom of the water bath, and place the ramekins directly on top
- Demerara and turbinado are my favorite sugars to use to caramelize the tops.
- Chill the custard until set. Normally I like to enjoy the custard the next day.
Lavender Creme Brulee Recipe
By Friends Of The Earth Lavender
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 whole vanilla bean split and scraped
- 1/2 cup of white sugar, plus 6 tablespoons for sprinkling over the top
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon of dried lavender flowers
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Place 4 shallow oval 6- oz ramekins in a large baking pan lined with a kitchen towel. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; keep hot until ready to use.
2. In a small saucepan, add your dried lavender to the cream, heat the cream on medium, and add the vanilla bean and mix until the mixture starts to steam for about 6 minutes. Turn off heat. Make sure you strain out the lavender and keep your creme.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar and the egg yolks until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly add hot creme mixture. Strain mixture into a clean bowl. Skim off any surface foam with a spoon.
4. Pour custard into ramekins. Carefully pour the boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custard is just set in the center when gently touched with your finger, about 35 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a wire rack to cool. Cover with a plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
5. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the ramekins, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Using a kitchen torch, pass the flame in a circular motion 1 to 2 inches above the surface of each until the sugar bubbles, turn amber, and forms a smooth surface. Serve immediately.
Earl Grey Vanilla Creme Brulee Recipe
Servings: 5
Same ingredients as the recipe above except replace the lavender with 2 earl grey tea bags.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Place 4 shallow oval 6- oz ramekins in a large baking pan lined with a kitchen towel. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; keep hot until ready to use.
2. In a small saucepan, add earl grey tea bags to the cream, heat the cream on medium, and add the vanilla bean and mix until the mixture starts to steam for about 6 minutes. Turn off heat. Make sure you strain out the lavender and keep your creme.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar and the egg yolks until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly add hot creme mixture. Strain mixture into a clean bowl. Skim off any surface foam with a spoon.
4. Pour custard into ramekins. Carefully pour the boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custard is just set in the center when gently touched with your finger, about 35 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a wire rack to cool. Cover with a plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
5. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the ramekins, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Using a kitchen torch, pass the flame in a circular motion 1 to 2 inches above the surface of each until the sugar bubbles, turn amber, and forms a smooth surface. Serve immediately.
You had me at the mention of Creme Brulee..I have never cooked with lavender…Maybe I should …Thank you for following CarolCooks2 🙂
Hi Carol,
Aww yes it is one of our favorites. Thank you for stopping by my blog too. 🙂
It looks soooo lovely! And it is as if you were reading my mind 🙂 I’ve been nagged for a while now to make creme brulee,and when I finally decided that Sunday would be the day I burn my kitchen,I saw your post.Good for me that I waited :)All the good advice will come to use.Thanks 🙂
Hi Kate
Thank you very much for the wonderful comments. Oh creme brulee is my absolute weakness. Oh no you burned your kitchen? Is everything okay?
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and I hope to see you make a tasty creme brulee soon. 🙂
Ok my dear, I will send it shortly!
Thank you!!!
They were delicious with a slight hint of lavender of course. And ff course I squeezed in some photography before they vanished. My only regret is that I did not have any fresh lavender to include in the photos to brighten them up. Next season!
Lovely!! I can share your photos on my blog if you like?
Thank you for trying my recipe out!! You made my night. 🙂
Oh and I just made a new batch of organic lavender vanilla sugar!! 🙂
Mmm… I made lavender sugar as well. If you think my photo is worthy of putting up on your blog, you may share it. (I was not too happy with my photos.. and hence no post on it, at least not yet). You can be the judge. How may I send you a photo?
Oh please send me!! (Kouzounaslive@gmail.com)
Thank you very much!!
What a lovely idea! I have to make this. I have lavender growing in my garden and it is yelling to be picked and dried.
I would love for you to make this!! It’s been a hit in our family for many years. Yay what kind do you have growing?
My husband loves creme brulee so I knew we needed to try this one and we finally did! My only regret now is not having harvested more lavender when I had the chance earlier this summer. Thank you so much!
Awww how did it come out?? Thanks for trying. Did you get a chance to snap a photo?
Yes you can always order some gourmet flowers online?
How wonderful is the addition lavender to this creme Brûlée…
Yes the lavender adds such a unique flavor in the creme brulee. My mom has been making this for many years now, and it’s a hit in our family. I’m happy you enjoy!
I will try this next time i make creme brûlée:))
I would love to hear your thoughts! Happy weekend to you dear.
What a beautiful dessert Krystina!
Thank you koukla!!
Yum! I’ve never eaten anything with lavender in it, this sounds really neat!
Really? I would love to hear your feedback when you try anything with lavender in it. 🙂
Such a beautiful blogpost in every way koukla! Bravo! <3
Thank you very much Gina mou!
💙💙💙
Miss you!!
I have never baked with lavender…sounds divine 🙂
Hi Marisa,
Really? It’s super yummy and perfect in sweet and savory recipes. A little goes a long way.
Will certainly have to give it a try 🙂
Please do 🙂
I just bought a lavender plant for my deck planter garden this year. What is the difference between culinary lavender and just a regular lavender plant?
Hi,
I get this question a lot! Really no such thing as culinary lavender. You can use any kind of lavender you like, except Spanish which is the decorative lavender. Most the time I use English lavender.
OK thank you so much for responding to my question. I guess I’ll have to go back and find out what kind of lavender it is as I threw away the tag on it. 🙂
I have to say this is my moms recipe, and she corrected me on her first recipe. I did mention “culinary” lavender before, but I disagree with that term. I have cooked with 3 different varieties of lavender so far and they came out the same. I do know that there are over 150 varieties, but so far I don’t agree with culinary lavender. Maybe my thoughts will change down the line? Yes I am curious what kind of lavender you have.
I planted the lavender in another pot that it came in, the type was on a sticker on the front of the pot and unfortunately it’s been thrown away and gone to the dump already. I had no idea there were so many varieties! My variety grows out to the side a bit and then straight up.
Hi,
Ohhh can you send me a photo of it? I can try to see what variety it is for you.
I would love to! Give me a few to take and download. 🙂
Thank you very much! Just got it. 🙂
My email is kouzounaslive@gmail.com