Cremé brûlée with orange zest

The creamiest, most decadent custard known to man gets a local makeover by Lannice Snyman, who adds a splash of Van der Hum and spikes it with cinnamon.Unlike some purists in our midst, I love pottering around in the kitchen with a classic recipe and, with a few twists and tweaks, morphing it into something else entirely.

 

Cremé brûlée makes its appearance in cookbooks from the 18th century and chefs, it seems, have rediscovered its appeal. There’s hardly a restaurant in the country that doesn’t have it on the menu, ready to seduce those who become misty-eyed and weak-kneed in anticipation of silken custard under a crisp sugar dome which gives way at the thwack of a spoon.

The literal translation (“burnt custard”) refers to this crackly topping which, in long-gone days, was done with a red-hot baker’s shovel or branding iron. A blowtorch is today’s carameliser of choice; if you don’t possess one, a piping hot oven griller will do almost as well.

The origins of the recipe are subject to much argument among the culinary cognoscenti. The French insist it’s their creation; others maintain that it’s a speciality of New Orleans (there are some excellent versions on menus in that small corner of the world). Meanwhile, some claim that a Scot introduced it to Trinity College at Cambridge in the late 1800s and – not to be outdone – Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain have also muscled in on the act, the latter with its fabulous variation, romantically named Crèma Catalana.

Sneaky Kaapenaar that I am, this version puts a local spin on things, with the addition of orange zest, bits of cinnamon and a good splash of Van der Hum. This world-famous, tangerine-flavoured liqueur has a tale of its own to tell. South Africa lays claim to it “finish and klaar!” even though a similar liqueur is made in the West Indies. History records that the original family recipe was snaffled up by a wine merchant for the princely sum of £800. There were eventually some 20 Van der Hum distillers in the Cape, of which one was reported to have used 8 000 baskets of naartjies every year for his brew; the amount of spices required (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace) is anyone’s guess. Most agree that it was named after the Dutch East India Company’s Admiral Van der Hum who was particularly partial to it.

Cape crème brûlée
Serves 6

500ml cream
Finely grated zest of ½ orange
3 T Van der Hum
½ t vanilla extract
5 egg yolks
4 T castor sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
Brown sugar, for the topping

Heat the oven to 160°C. Combine the cream and
orange zest in a medium saucepan and heat to just
below boiling point. Remove from the heat and stir in
the Van der Hum and vanilla extract.

Whisk the egg yolks and castor sugar together in
a large jug until well blended. Strain in the hot
cream. Place six 125ml (½ cup) ramekins in a roaster and fill
with custard. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up
the sides of the ramekins and bake for about 45
minutes until the custard has set.

Caramelise the topping shortly before serving:
sprinkle a little brown sugar onto the custards and caramelise
with a blowtorch.

Lannice Snyman is one of South Africa’s most
experienced and well-respected food writers. For more recipes
like this, see her book Posh Nosh – Fabulous Food for Family and
Friends (Lannice Snyman Publishers, 2005).