Lake trout with potato risotto
After spectacular culinary journeys across the world’s oceans, Lukas Nagl has found his home port...
Vegan crème brûlée
Philip Khoury’s vegan take on this classic dessert: a close relative of crème caramel, featuring a silky vanilla custard topped with caramel. The difference lies in the texture—the caramel here is not liquid, but formed into a crisp, brûléed sugar crust.
Ingredients: 6 servings
Vanilla custard
| Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
| 750 | g | oat or soy drink (1) |
| 280 | g | superfine sugar |
| 1 | vanilla pod, seeds scraped out | |
| 80 | g | oat or soy drink (2) |
| 60 | g | cornstarch |
| 30 | g | vegan vanilla pudding powder |
| 75 | g | coconut oil (deodorized) |
| Additionally: 90-100 | g | superfine white sugar or demerara sugar |
Preparation
In a large saucepan, combine plant-based milk (1), sugar, vanilla seeds, and the pod. Heat gently until it begins to simmer, then remove the vanilla pod.
In the meantime, whisk together plant-based milk (2), cornstarch, and pudding powder in a small bowl until smooth.
Pour this mixture into the hot milk over very low heat, stirring constantly. Gradually add the coconut oil, first slowly, then more vigorously, until the mixture becomes smooth, creamy, and glossy.
Immediately pour the custard into a large shallow dish and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until fully set. Transfer to a bowl and stir until smooth.
Fill or pipe the custard to a height of about 4 cm into six heatproof ramekins (approx. 8 cm in diameter). Chill again. The dessert can be prepared up to this stage up to 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated. Once caramelized, however, it should be served within 30 minutes, as the sugar crust will soften over time.
To caramelize, sprinkle each custard with a heaped tablespoon of sugar. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar in a circular motion from the outside inward until it forms a crisp, golden crust.
