Jekka's Lemon Verbena Crème Brûlée

Jekka's Lemon Verbena Crème Brûlée

For a local Herb Group's AGM we served them lemon verbena crème brûlée for dessert along with shortbread and crystallised lemon verbena leaves. I used to judge a restaurant by the quality of it's crème brûlée and in my opinion this definitely ranks highly (especially as it is my Grand-mother's recipe).

This recipe is taken from Jekka's Herb Cook Book (page 175) and serves 4.

Ingredients:

  • 225 ml milk
  • 1 handful of lemon verbena leaves, finely chopped
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 60 ml double cream
  • 50 g demerara sugar

Steps:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 140 Deg C.
  2. Put the milk in a small pan with the chopped lemon verbena leaves, bring to the simmer, remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse.
  3. Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the caster sugar and whisk until pale and thick.
  4. Add the cooled infused milk and the cream and whisk well.
  5. Pass through a fine meshed sieve.
  6. Ladle the mixture into four ramekin dishes and set them in a roasting tin.
  7. Pour enough water to come to three-quarters of the way up the side (usually best to do this once the tray is in the oven).
  8. Pop in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
  9. Leave to cool and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  10. Just before serving, sprinkle with demerara sugar over the top of each pudding and caramelise with either a blow torch or by putting them under a hot grill.

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