Mango Creme Brulee

Photo: flickr user technotheory

Ingredients

4 cups Heavy cream

1 Vanilla bean - 4" long

1 pch Salt

8 Egg yolks

3/4 cup Sugar

2/3 cup Diced fresh mango

4 tablespoons Light-brown sugar for caramelizing

4 tablespoons Granulated sugar for caramelizing

Mint sprigs if desired

Fresh berries if desired

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla bean, and salt to scalding. Remove the vanilla bean from the hot cream. Slit it open with a knife and scrape the tiny seeds back into the cream. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until well mixed and light in color. Slowly add the hot cream, stirring constantly to melt the sugar and not let the eggs scramble. Strain.

Divide the mixture among 8 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan. Fill the pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until the center is just beginning to set and no longer liquid.

Remove the ramekins from the oven and cool. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 3 hours or overnight. Close to serving time, combine the sugars in a small bowl. Preheat a broiler and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the mixed sugars evenly over the surface of each custard. Broil (as quickly as possible) until the sugar is caramelized. Alternately, you can caramelize the sugar with a propane torch. Serve within 1 hour to maintain the crispness of the sugar topping.

Serve garnished with mint sprigs and fresh berries, if desired.

This recipe yields 8 servings.