Citrus Crème Brûlée with Macerated Berries

~I came across lemon verbena at a local nursery, in early Spring. While the little plant did not survive past Summer, I never forgot its scent. One whiff of clean, sharp lemony fragrance and I had to figure out a way to use it. The combination of zest from lemon, lime, and orange will provide more than enough flavor. If you come across this plant, I encourage you to take the time to inhale that wonderful scent, and experiment in your own cooking. Unfortunately, I have never seen it sold in stores. 

Special Equipment:

8 ramekins

sieve

culinary torch

deep dish pan

Ingredients for Macerated Berries

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

2 tbsp Chambord

2 tbsp Grand Marnier

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp sugar

2 mint leaves- minced

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine ingredients and mix thoroughly. Set aside and chill 1hr before serving.

Ingredients for Crème Brûlée:

1 ½ pint heavy whipping cream

6 large egg yolks

zest from lemon

zest from 1 lime

zest from 1 orange

2 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

¾ cup sugar

6-8 lemon verbena leaves (optional)

¼ tsp salt

brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a sauce pan/pot on medium heat, add cream, zest, and lemon verbena leaves. Stir lightly and bring to simmer (careful not to boil) uncovered. Simmer for 2-3min.
3. Using a sieve, strain out leaves and zest from cream. Set cream aside to cool.
4. In a medium bowl, add yolks and beat. Gradually add sugar while beating.
5. Add heated cream into bowl slowly while beating mixture together. Set aside custard mixture to cool for 10min.
6. Pour custard mixture into ramekins. Set ramekins into a deep dish pan. Fill pan with warm water, but do not over fill- you don't want water to slosh into the custard.
7. Bake custard for 50-55min.
8. Remove ramekins from water bath and chill in refrigerator for 3hrs
9. Dust surface of custard with a layer of brown sugar.
10. Using culinary torch, caramelize until surface is a rich caramel brown color. Cool for 2min.
11. Serve with macerated berries. Garnish with extra mint leaves if desired.

*Tip: I rarely have 3hrs worth of time (or space in the fridge for that long) on my hands. It will also work fine if you place ramekins to cool in the refrigerator for 15min initially, then place into freezer for 20min. Just be very careful to place on a flat surface and not to freeze it.