Johnny, you make me swoon.
In support of Marc and Susan’s inaugural Dinner and a Movie event, I walked exactly 1.6 kilometers, from my house to my closest Blockbuster, and rented the feature movie, Chocolat. No YouTube, no BitTorrent, and no persuasion needed. I have loved our leading man since 21 Jump Street.
Like any good gastronomically inspired movie, Chocolat leaves you wanting a taste of the titular ingredient and to be transported into their world. And like any endearing love story, it leaves you desirous of romance and longing to be swept away. It is a sensual movie, and it inspires a sensual dessert: a silky smooth Chocolate, Fig and Anise Crème Brûlée.
Chocolate, Fig and Anise Crème Brûlée
From: Crème Brûlée: more than 50 decadent recipes
1 ½ cups whipping cream
2/3 cup whole milk
2 start anise
3.6 oz (100 g) milk chocolate, chopped
1 large egg
5 large egg yolks
2 T sugar
6 dried figs, quartered
Additional sugar for caramelizing
Garnish (optional):
Sprigs of mint
Dried figs, quartered and tossed in sugar
Caramel nuts
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Combine cream, milk and star anise in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil. Remove pan from the heat, cover with a lid and let stand for 30 minutes. Discard star anise.
Return the cream mixture to the burner and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Again, be careful not to boil the mixture. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and combined. Cool slightly.
Whisk together the egg, egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. Slowly add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly until well combined.
Divide the figs among 6 ramekins. Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins and place them in a shallow roasting pan. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for approximately 60 minutes, until the custard barely moves when shaken, or a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and let rest at room temperature for an hour. Refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.
To serve, sprinkle a thick layer of sugar evenly over the custards. Torch the sugar until melted and golden. Top with garnishes, if using.
[...] Chocolate, Fig and Anise Crème Brûlée [...]
What a wonderful combination. I’ve eaten Creme Brulee out, but never made it myself. This may be the one, though I’d probably use dark chocolate.
Wow, what an explosion of flavors! Plus, it’s a ramekin filled with some of my very favorite ingredients.
That lovely creme brulee is making ME swoon right now! It looks divine! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next month!
P.S. I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers 21 Jump Street.
The glistening surface of your gorgeous creme brulee makes me want to bring my spoon to the screen and try to break that crystallized shell! I adore your addition of figs and candied walnuts!
ok, dried figs, check. chocolate, cream, sugar, check. i think i could actually make this. i suck at baking but this looks really easy! and really delicious. i love the candied figs.
Claudia - I perfer dark chocolate myself, but in this instance, I think the milk chocolate works better as there are a lot of strong flavours happening here.
Carolyn, Susan and Passionate Eater - Thanks for the kind words.
We are never full - It really was quite simple. Do give it a try.
Love the idea of a topping for your creme brulee. I love to make creme brulee and I’m always looking for new flavor ideas!
With a photo like that you could actually make me like dessert. Would this work with dark chocolate?
Another Johnny/21 Jump Street fan here too!
Love how you presented that brulee. I happen to have ordered that cookbook a couple of days ago. It’s going to be hard deciding what to make from it!
What an ambrosial sounding combination of flavours! I need to make this for a special dinner party I think!