What should I make for the “Love At First Bite” blog hop, many sweet memories came to mind… french macarons, banoffee pie, date and banana shooters, panna cotta, chocolate eclairs, Pavlova… the sweet list goes on! But a firm favourite that stands the test taste of time, is crème brûlée. The words that come to mind when eating this dessert are… rich, smooth, silky, creamy… with a light caramelized crunch… a kind of culinary heaven!
The literal translation of crème brûlée means “burnt cream” by which the sugar topping is quickly caramelized using the grill or a hand-held blow torch.
My crème brûlée has a slight twist, I have replaced the traditional caramelized sugar topping with some home-made honeycomb. If you like Crunchie bars then this easy to make honeycomb is quite similar.
Crème Brûlée Shooters
Ingredients:
- 3 large egg yolks (whites can be used for Pavlova)
- 2 tablespoons castor sugar
- 300ml double cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- crushed honey comb or icing sugar
How to make:
- In a heatproof bowl combine egg yolks and castor sugar, whisk vigorously until pale and slightly thickened.
- Pour the cream into a saucepan and gently heat until the sides of the cream start to bubble. Remove from heat and gradually pour the hot cream into the egg mixture while whisking.
- Place the mixture over simmering water, stir constantly with a spatula until the mixture thickens, this can take about 15 minutes. Pour into 6 or 8 (depending on size) small shot glasses and refrigerate until set which can take a couple of hours or leave overnight. Just before serving scatter over some lightly crushed honeycomb.
- If you are not using the honeycomb, dust over a light layer of icing sugar over the set custard and using a hand-held blow torch caramelize the sugar until browned. I would not recommend putting these shot glasses under the grill due to the intense heat unless you use appropriate heatproof dishes!
Honeycomb
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon water
- 75g castor sugar
- 60g golden syrup
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
How to make:
- In a small saucepan (with high sides) add the water, sugar and golden syrup and place over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
- Increase the heat to medium and boil the syrup until it turns a more golden colour, this will take about 3 minutes, be careful that it does not burn.
- Turn off the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda and mix it in quickly. It will foam like mad and start to bubble up the sides of the pan, quickly pour the bubbling honeycomb onto a slip mat or baking tray covered with baking parchment and allow it to flow level. Leave the honeycomb to cool and crisp up.
- Break into large pieces and store (separate with baking parchment) in an airtight container until needed. Can be made a day ahead.
Honeycomb can be served alongside a shot of espresso, crush and folded into some home-made ice cream, scattered over mousse and cheesecakes or just enjoyed as it is!
This post has been part of the “Love At First Bite” blog hop! Click on the badge and check out all the other entries!
Food and Tools 
Both recipes look and sound delicious! What is castor sugar?
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Castor/caster sugar is a very fine grain white sugar which I believe is called superfine sugar in the States. 🙂
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I’m from the U.S., so when I first started looking at people’s food blogs, I had the same question as Casey (above). Your creme brule recipe looks delicious! My boyfriend has a torch in the garage and I certainly enjoy using it, so this recipe gives me an excellent excuse. I would love to crack into one of the shooters!
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Castor/caster sugar is a very fine grain white sugar which I believe is called superfine sugar in the States. Make sure that blow torch from the garage is not too powerful for little dessert shooters in a glass! Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
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Wow, you are my kind of cook. Love it! Glad I found your blog.
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Thank you Lizzy, glad you like my blog and for the follow. 🙂
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I love the idea of the honeycomb topping!! What a great idea…delicious too.
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Thanks Jennifer… so easy to make… in fact I am having coffee right now and munching on a little piece of honeycomb! 🙂
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Crème brûlée and honeycomb shooters? I want a crème brûlée and honeycomb PINT! These look divine!
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I could have a pint of crème brûlée as well, that is why I made them in shot glasses! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Lovely! I made my first creme brulee the other day and it was so delicious. I made one big one but I think I’ll have to make individual ones next time – they look and feel so more special. And I really like your twist with the honeycomb pieces too
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Christina if I made a big creme brulee I know I would over indulge so the mini ones keep me in check… the honeycomb is so easy and delicious! 🙂
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How fun! I love that you made mini crème brûlées – the honeycomb topping sounds delicious!
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The honeycomb is so easy and yummy… give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂
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You are marvelous!!! I love the idea of creme brulee shooters…and it would be hard to decide between the traditional or the honeycomb version…both so yummy!
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Sometimes I have both as they are so yummy… well at least they were mini! 🙂
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I love honeycomb but never really thought of making it myself! I’m definitely going to have to try this. My brain is working overtime now, what can I add honeycomb to?!?!?!!
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It is so easy and delicious… let me know if you try making the honeycomb and what culinary creations you come up with! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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Brilliant, however there is no possible way I could stop at just one of those shooters! I’ve been wanting to make honeycomb for a while – thanks for the recipe!
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I also find it hard to have just one shooter… ! Let me know if you make the honeycomb.
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