Celebrate the cozy flavors of fall with our exquisite Blood Orange-Champagne Crème Brulee, created by Chef Corey Jordan with the University of Syracuse. This decadent dessert takes a classic French favorite and infuses it with the vibrant, tart-sweet essence of The Republic of Tea’s Cranberry Blood Orange Tea, transforming every silky bite into a celebration of autumn. The result is a luscious custard kissed with citrus and berry notes, topped with the satisfying crackle of caramelized sugar — an elegant finale to any fall gathering.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of champagne
- 5 cups of heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons of blood orange zest (about 2 oranges)
- 2 vanilla beans
- 16 egg yolks
- 12 blood orange slices (about 3 oranges)
- 10 tablespoons of granulated sugar (divided)
- 12 tablespoons of super fine granulated sugar
- 8 Cranberry Blood Orange Tea Bags
Directions
- Place 12 (6-ounce) ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Place the the blood orange slices in a bowl and add the champagne and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Set aside.
- Add the cream and blood orange zest to a medium-sized pot and place it on the stove. Use a paring knife to make a slit in the vanilla bean lengthwise, and then use the back of the knife to spread each half open, and scrape all of the beans into the cream. Add the emptied pod to the cream as well.
- Add the tea bags, turn the heat to medium-high under the pot of cream and scald it -- it should not quite be boiling, and should just have tiny bubbles along the edges.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 5 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk until it's thick and a lighter yellow, about 5 minutes.
- Temper and combine the cream mixture with egg mixture. Remove the tea bags and vanilla bean pod. Turn the heat off of the cream, strain through fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, then use a large ladle to add a cup or so of the hot cream to the egg mixture, and whisk it immediately. Repeat this one more time, and then add this to the remaining cream in the pot. Turn the heat to medium-low and whisking constantly, cook until the mixture is thick, about 6 minutes or so. It should coat the back of a spoon and stay there.
- Place ramekins in cassarole dish or baking sheet with high sides and pour water in vessel 1/2 way up the side of the ramekins. Pour equal amounts of the custard into each ramekin. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutres or until set. Cool in refrigerator.
- Brûlée! When you're ready to serve, sprinkle each one evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Then use a small kitchen blow torch to brown the sugar to create a crust. Peel rind off orange slices and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and torch in the same fashion. If you don't have the kitchen torch, you can also place them under the broiler, fairly close to the flame, just until they brown, 1 minute or less.
Author: Corey Jordan, Chef with the University of Syracuse
