Leatherwood honey crème brûlée

Leatherwood honey is a premium native Australian honey exclusively produced in Tasmania, Australia. Derived from the nectar of eucryphia lucida, a tree species that grows only in the rainforests of Tasmania, leatherwood honey has a unique, floral aroma and distinctive flavour, the ideal Australian sweetener to showcase in Rosheen Kaul’s honey crème brûlée.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 450 ml thickened cream
• 30 g leatherwood honey
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1 lemon, finely zested
• 6 egg yolks
• 50 g caster sugar
• Icing sugar and caster sugar, to brûlée

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150˚C, prepare 4 ramekins by placing into a large baking tray and set aside. Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Combine the cream, honey and vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat, then remove from heat once it boils.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk the lemon zest, egg yolks and caster sugar until smooth. Pour the warmed honey cream over the yolks, sugar and lemon and whisk well to combine. Discard the vanilla bean. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the mixture into a large jug, then divide between the 4 ramekins.
   
3. Pour enough hot water into the large baking tray to come halfway up the height of the ramekins, then cover with foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until just set. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely, then chill in the fridge.
   
4. When ready to serve, cover the surface of the custard with icing sugar and torch to melt. Repeat with a second layer of caster sugar and brûlée. Serve immediately.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.