February Recipe of the Month

February Recipe of the Month… comes from Kings Arms Hotel, Head Chef Dan Grimshaw. Dan has voted his ‘Mocha Crème Brûlée’ as his dish of the month and says it’s time to have a break from the detoxes and dieting, as we all need a little indulgence in life.

Mocha Crème Brûlée

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 50g Belgian dark chocolate
  • 420ml whipping cream
  • 2tsp strong instant coffee
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 50gm castor sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top
  • Pouring cream for serving

 

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Sit four 175ml ramekins in a roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep.
  2. Place a small pan half full of water onto boil, put the chocolate into a bowl and place on too of the pan to melt it, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
  3. Pour the cream into a medium pan with the coffee and heat gently. As soon as you see bubbles appear round the edge, take the pan off the heat. Do not allow to boil.
  4. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 minute with an electric hand whisk until paler in colour and a bit fluffy.
  5. Whisk the melted chocolate into the cream then pour the hot chocolate cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk as you do so.
  6. Pour enough hot water into the roasting tin to reach about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot chocolate cream into the ramekins leaving 1cm at the top – it’s easier to spoon in the last little bit. Put them in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is softly set. To check, gently sway the roasting tin and if the crème brûlées are ready, they will wobble a bit in the middle. Don’t let them get too firm.
  7. Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with oven gloves and set them on a wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes only, then put in the fridge to cool.
  8. To serve, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top then caramelise with a blow torch or for 30 seconds under a hot grill. Leave to set for 1 minute then serve with pouring cream.