Crème Brûlée, Meyer Lemon and Coconut

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Summary: I adore Meyer lemon anything and have long been wanting to combine its juice with coconut milk for a sweet-sour dessert. Cakes and pies are awesome but a dime a dozen; crème brûlée, on the other hand, is a treat I don't get to enjoy often enough. Voila! You'll need ramekins and a kitchen torch for this. 

Yield: 4-6 ramekins, depending on their size

Ingredients:

  • 1 generous teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup vanilla sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 can full-fat coconut milk, shaken/stirred well so that the "cream" has been mixed back into the milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Get out four large or six small ramekins and set them into a 9x13 baking dish. Set a kettle or pot of water to boil.

If you've not already, zest 1-2 of your lemons and set it aside. In a small, non-reactive mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and vanilla sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of a double-boiler set over just simmering water, whisk together your egg yolks and one tablespoon of the regular sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the yolks have begun to thicken, several minutes.

Gently pour the coconut milk and cream into the yolk mixture, sprinkle the flour, cardamom and salt over the top, and whisk to combine well. Continue whisking gently until the mixture is warmed through. Pour the warm mixture into the lemon juice-vanilla sugar mixture, whisking to combine thoroughly.

Pour evenly into your ramekins and carefully pour boiling water into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully slip the pan into your oven and bake 40 - 45 minutes, until the custard has set. It might still be slightly wobbly and that's OK- it will firm up in the fridge. Just make sure it's not liquidy at all.

Remove the pan from the oven and remove the ramekins from the water-filled baking dish. Let them cool on the counter for five minutes and then transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When the ramekins are fully chilled, remove from fridge, divide the remaining granulated sugar evenly over the custard and then gently shake off that which does not stick.

Light your kitchen torch, start a bit above the sugar and slowly move closer to it, burning it until it caramelizes and hardens. Return the ramekins to the fridge for 5-10 minutes and then enjoy.