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.