Christmas Crème Brûlée

I have mentioned on this blog before that one of our favourite desserts is Crème Brûlée and when I saw Avonmore’s competition over on the Irish Food Bloggers website seeking recipes for 12 Days of Christmas I immediately thought a Christmas Crème Brûlée would be perfect. It’s very easy to make and needs just a few ingredients and if you haven’t made your own then simply buy a jar of good quality mincemeat.  The most important thing to remember about making Crème Brûlée is to bake at a low temperature and check 5 minutes before time just in case – that way you are sure to end up with fabulously silky, creamy and perfectly set custard.  The wonderful thing about this dessert is the custards can be made a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge until an hour before serving, all you have to do then is sprinkle with sugar and caramelise the tops. [Read more…]

Potato Dauphinoise

This is a really quick and easy way to make Dauphinoise.  I have tried the other method of using very thinly sliced raw potatoes but I find it just takes too long as you need to cook on a low temperature to avoid the starch curdling the cream.  By parboiling the potatoes first you avoid this and you can get fabulously creamy, garlicky potatoes in half the time. Also by heating the cream with the garlic, salt and pepper first you can check the seasoning before baking in the oven. Use waxy potatoes if possible as floury spuds will soak up all of the cream and become quite mushy. [Read more…]