Espresso Honey Brulee
 

My favorite part of cooking is recipe development. Here's one I did on
Wednesday. Don't get hung up on the quantities. They are based on what I
had to work with and can be tweaked to your preference. This one worked out
pretty well.

2 pints heavy cream
1/4 cup espresso coffee beans, cracked
1/2 cup honey (a 6.5 oz. package)
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. or so of vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar.

Heat the cream and then add the cracked coffee beans and allow it to steep
off the flame for an hour or so. Strain the coffee beans from the cream and
reheat, adding the honey and sugar. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the hot
cream mixture to it while stirring constantly. Go very slowly at first to
temper the eggs. Strain again to clean up the egg whites and add the
vanilla. Pour into ramekins and bake in a bain marie until a knife blade
comes out of the custard clean. I used 325 degrees and it took about an
hour. Chill for several hours. sprinkle a little granulated sugar on the top
and caramelize it with a torch in the usual creme brulee fashion. serve
immediately.

Many creme brulee recipes would call for just egg yolks and more of them for
this volume of milk or cream. I only had 4 eggs so that's what I used. It
worked fine and provided a very smooth texture since I strained it through a
fine chinoise. You may want to experiment with egg yolks alone. I'd probably
put 7 or 8 yolks. Try it. It won't help you lose weight but it's a real
treat for coffee lovers.

Fred
The Good Gourmet
http://www.thegoodgourmet.com