Recipe : Mango Crème Brulee

I love mangoes!  Unfortunately we don't get the best quality of mangoes in the US though now the Indian markets will carry some good ones when in season.  Forty years later, I still dream about the sweet, delicious, pulp of the mangoes I ate as a child in India.  My son loves Creme Brulee and so when I was thinking of a dessert for my recent dinner party, he suggested I make that.  With an Indian menu, I wanted to put some spin on the classic to make it more in theme with the evening.  Since it is mango season in India, the decision was easy.  I decided to substitute the traditional vanilla bean with cardamom pods and ground cardamom seeds and replaced some of the cream with mango pulp (can be found in Indian markets).  The experiment was a great success and this will be a recipe I will turn to often I think. 

Ingredients

24 ounces Heavy Cream

8 ounces Mango Pulp

8 Green Cardamom Pods (lightly crushed)

1 Tsp ground Cardamom

7 egg yolks

¼ cup white Sugar (optional) – I leave it out as the mango pulp adds a good sweetness

For topping:

Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) or other minimally processed sugar (regular sugar will also do)

Ground Cardamom(optional)

Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a heavy bottomed pot add the heavy cream, mango pulp, cardamom pods and ground cardamom.  Place on medium heat and allow to just come to a boil but do not boil.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and sugar (if using) until fluffy and just starting to turn light in color (approx. 10 minutes).  Strain the cream into a large enough measuring cup to remove the pods and seeds.  Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg yolks while constantly whisking so as not to curdle the eggs.  Ladle the mixture into 10 4 oz ramekins or oven safe bowls.  Place the bowls into a large roasting pan and add hot water (I boil the water in my tea kettle while I’m whisking) to the pan until it is half way up the sides of the ramekins.  Place roasting pan into the oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes.  They will still be a bit wobbly in the center which is fine.  Cool completely on a rack and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

When ready to serve, sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of the turbinado sugar (I put about ½ cup in a bowl and add ½ tsp ground cardamom to it) evenly on the surface.  Using a hand held torch heat the sugar until just caramelized.  Wait one minute to harden the surface. Crack into it and enjoy!!