Delicious elderflower crème brûlée with strawberry and basil salad

This dessert provides the perfect sweet treat, featuring minimal ingredients and maximum flavour! We’ve taken inspiration from Carmel Berry, finding the elderflower gives a great twist to the French classic, combined with a creamy custard base and crispy caramelised top.

Elderflower grows in abundance across our country – you’ve probably seen it many times in woods or roadside hedgerows and not even realised! Its frothy white flowers bloom until late August, when they develop into Elderberries.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes, Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
5 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of Carmel Berry Co Elderflower Syrup
1/2 cup of sugar (for custard)
4 teaspoons of sugar (for toppings)
Strawberry and basil (to accompany)

Method

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees (Celsius).
Using a saucepan, mix the half-and-half with some salt. After it’s mixed, stir it frequently over a low heat until it starts to steam.
With a separate pan, boil 3 cups of water.
In a bowl, beat together the yolks with the sugar, before adding the vanilla and elderflower syrup. Slowly pour in the half-and-half mixture, stirring gently to ensure the sugar doesn’t burn on the bottom.
Distribute evenly into four ramekin dishes and then place the ramekins into a baking dish.
Pour the boiling water into the baking dish until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekin dishes.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until the centre is barely set. The custard should jiggle from side to side when nudged, however it should not be liquid in the centre.
Refrigerate for 5 hours.
When they’re ready to be served, top each one with a teaspoon of sugar.
Using a torch, brown the sugar on the top of the dessert for about 5 minutes until it’s nice and crisp.
We added some strawberry and basil on top, just to give it that extra flavour.

And if you’ve still got your sweet tooth craving, have a look at our Sticky Toffee Pudding!