Orange Lavender Creme Brulee ...... Thanks Dear Friends!

 

Aachoo!!...A flu season has started, and like many of you, flu has visited our home; therefore, I have been away of the blog world  :(.....

I want to dedicate this post to all of you, but specially to my dear  blog friends Kesito, Nadji, Fimere, Mayda, Teresa, Nale and Tito for the awards that they have share with me. Since it is impossible for me to decide to whom I will give them to all of you.....Thanks!!

This recipe is about friendship....The base for this creme brulee is an old family recipe from a dear French friend.

I like lavender in sweets and pastries; nevertheless, I don't like to eat lavender flowers. I have a French friend that is from a little town in Provence. As you can imagine, she cooks many things with lavender. One of the things that surprise me from her sweets is that they taste a wonderful lavender, but I do not eat them. Therefore, I asked her.....What do you do?.....It is honey infused with lavender, or do you use lavender sugar (like the vanilla sugar)? .....How do you do to cook with lavender without having the flowers? ....She answered me.....I make lavender syrup...............every family in Southern France has one recipe, but I will teach you my traditional family recipe.....with this syrup you can create anything......

I was very happy to receive that wonderful gift from my friend, and since I do this syrup at home, I've been creating many dishes. I have use it in cakes, muffins, marzipan, anything.......Once you start using it, it is up to your imagination..........Now, I'm very happy to share this recipe with you.

Lavender Syrup

300 ml of water

200 grams of sugar

8 grams of dried lavender

In a pan (thick bottom) mix the water and sugar, and cook it in a medium heat for about 6 minutes. Add the dry lavender, and let it cook for 20 more minutes without getting the mix brown. This part is very tricky. It is very easy to pass from a clear to a brown caramel. You will have to adjust the heat and probably the cooking time. If it becomes brown, then the syrup will taste more caramel than lavender. After cooking this mix for 20 to 30 minutes, strain it and put in a glass jar. Keep it in the fridge until you will use it.

The first time I made it, and it ends up brown......I did it three time before getting the right point and colour. Although I strain it, I like to leave few flowers in this syrup.

When you will make this syrup......your house will smell fantastic!!

 The mix has to be light purple and not brown

Orange Lavender Creme Brulee

2.5 cups of cream (I use 10%)

7 egg yolks

1 orange (peel and juice)

Sugar (I used 1/4 cup, but it will depends on your mix)

Lavender syrup

In a pan, mix the cream, orange zest, orange juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of lavender syrup. Taste for sweetness and flavour. You can use more or less mix of sugar and lavender syrup. Bring the mix to simmer for 7 minutes, take the cream out of the stove and let it stand for 15 minutes. Strain it to take out the orange peel.

Whisk the egg yolks until they are creamy. Add one cup of the cream mix and continue whisking. Incorporate the rest of the cream slowly and whisk well. 

Divide the mix into ramekins. Put the ramekins in a rosting pan with hot water surrounding them. Cook in a preheated oven at 165C for 40 minutes or until fully cooked.

When they are cooked, sprinkle sugar on top, and caramelized the sugar under the grill. Enjoy!!