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Pandan Vanilla Crème Brûlée

Course: Dessert
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • Ramekins
  • Fine Mesh Sieve
  • Mortar & Pestle
  • Baking Dish
  • Kitchen Torch

Ingredients

  • 4 large egg yolks (~18g per yolk)
  • 50 g sugar (1/4 cup) plus another ~16g (4 tsp) for topping
  • 435 ml heavy cream (1 3/4 cups)
  • 1 vanilla bean cut in half, scraped
  • 6~10 pandan leaves amount depending on preference, fresh or frozen

Instructions

  • Rinse the pandan leaves and cut them into small pieces. Use a circular twisting motion with your wrist to grind the leaves until fine with a mortar and pestle*, add a bit of cream if needed, and then add some more at the end and mix evenly. Strain out the product and add the infused cream back with the rest of the cream into a pot.
  • Preheat oven to 320°F.
  • Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the bean into the pot with the cream, heat the pot on medium heat just until you can see bubbles forming.
  • While you're waiting for the cream to heat, place ramekins in a baking dish that is big enough to accommodate all of them without touching each other. Boil a pot of water, there should be enough water to reach halfway up the ramekins.
  • Remove the vanilla bean from the cream. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thickened and pale yellow in color. While cream is still hot, very gradually pour into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Be patient as you temper so that the yolks don't curdle.
  • Pour the mixture through a sieve and evenly into the ramekins. Pour the boiled water into the baking dish around the ramekins, careful not to get any in them.
  • Carefully place the baking dish into the oven. Bake for 25-35 min until it is mostly set but still jiggly in the center. Bake time will depend on size of you ramekin.
  • Remove ramekins from the water and cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, cover and let set in the fridge overnight (min 4 hours).
  • When ready to serve, evenly distribute the sugar for topping and torch the surface. Let cool for a minute so the sugar can harden and then serve immediately.

Notes

* If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can use a blender and blend it in with the cream. Remember to cut into very small pieces so you don't break your blender (you can directly pour all the cream inside), and strain the cream after!