Crème Brûlée

This incredibly delicious dessert brings a bit of theatre to dinner. Cracking the thin, sugary top to reveal the smooth, velvety custard awakens a childlike happiness in most people. For a twist on a classic, add the rhubarb and strawberry compote at the bottom. If you are not a fan of fruity desserts, feel free to leave it out.

This dessert is actually incredibly easy to make and great for entertaining (make it ahead of time, keep it in the fridge then simply caramelize the top before serving). If you like the rhubarb and strawberry compote tangy, reduce the sugar to about 50g (60ml or 1/4 cup). Leftover egg whites are great for making friands or Swiss meringue buttercream. A blowtorch works well to caramelize the top, but you could also do it under the grill of an oven. See how-to here: Alana Smith (@alanasmithsweetphotography) • Instagram photos and videos

Enough for 8 small ramekins or 4 large ramekins (to share) - serves 8

RHUBARD & STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

rhubarb, 250g

caster sugar, 100g (125ml or 1/2 cup)

strawberries (fresh or frozen), 250g

VANILLA CUSTARD FILLING

cream, 300g (300ml or 1 + 1/5 cup)

full fat (full cream) milk, 60g (60ml or 1/4 cup)

vanilla pod, 1/2 pod (or 15ml/1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)

egg yolks, 4

caster sugar, 50g (60ml or 1/4 cup)

CARAMELIZED SUGAR TOP

caster sugar, about 15ml (1 tablespoon) per dessert

To make the compote, cut the rhubarb stalks into 1cm long chunks.

Place it in a medium saucepan (with a lid) along with the sugar.

Cook on a medium heat covered for a couple of minutes until it starts to soften (you can add a drop of water to get things going quicker).

Hull and quatre the strawberries before adding them to the rhubarb.

Cook for another few minutes until softened (depending on the texture you prefer - you can remove it from the heat while the strawberries are still holding their shape or cook the compote longer to be a bit finer and more uniform in texture).

Spoon a little of the compote into each ramekin.

To make the custard filling, preheat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan).

Place the cream, milk and scraped out seeds and empty vanilla pod (or vanilla bean paste) into a medium saucepan and heat on a low to medium heat to infuse.

Meanwhile, using a hand whisk, combine the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat.

Pour a little of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture and whisk immediately until smooth.

Add the remaining warm cream and mix again until smooth.

Pour the custard mixture through a sieve into a pouring jug or another bowl (do this to ensure a smooth custard and to discard the empty vanilla pod).

Divide the mixture among the ramekins and place them on a large, deep baking tray (or two trays if your ramekins are too big for one tray).

Fill the baking tray/s with warm water reaching just under the top of the ramekin edges (not too much to easily spill over the tops though - you can do this step in the oven to avoid spills).

Bake for approximately 20 - 45 minutes until set (the baking time will depend on the size of your ramekins - for small ramekins about 20 - 30 minutes, for large ramekins, about 30 - 45 minutes).

To check if the custards are baked, give it a gentle tap, it should be set with a very slight wobble only.

Carefully remove the ramekins from the baking tray with water and leave them at room temperature to cool.

Once cool, refrigerate for an hour or so until completely set (or overnight if you like).

Before serving, cover the top of each ramekin with caster sugar and caramelize with a blowtorch or in the oven under a hot grill (be careful not to burn it, they caramelize quickly).