Cyrus Todiwala's Saffron and Cardamom Crème Brûlée

This is an amazing recipe I tasted earlier this year at the London Wine Fair and persuaded chef Cyrus Todiwala of Café Spice Namasté to share. He says it's not yet in any of his books so you're not to nick it and pass it off as yours!

The Café Spice Namaste Saffron & Cardamom Crème Brulee

Serves 4

Equipment and preparation: You'll need a shallow ovenproof dish (to make one large crème brûlée) or four brûlée dishes or large ramekins (for individual brulées). You'll also need a mini-blowtorch to caramelise the top, a saucepan and a heat resistant scraper, whisk and wooden spatula and definitely a good small blender or liquidizer and a strainer

Ingredients

450ml/16fl oz double cream

250ml/ 8fl oz whole milk. Best is Jersey Gold Top

1 large or 2 smaller vanilla pods, split, seeds scraped out (or a few drops of vanilla extract) Use your judgment - some vanilla is stronger than others

5-6 free-range or organic egg yolks (save the egg whites for another dish or freeze them for future use)

100g/3½ oz caster sugar, plus 40g/1½ oz more, for the topping

40g fresh ginger, washed & chopped coarsely with the skin

4-5 green cardamom pods, smashed in a mortar - not powdered

a good pinch of saffron powder. (We use only the best from Tarbund in Iran. If you can't find a good saffron powder then use saffron threads which you need to toast gently in a small bowl inside a warm oven, crumble slightly when crisp and then let infuse in a little of the cooked, strained milk )

method

. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan along with the ginger and cardamom pods and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently scraping the sides of the pan clean regularly with the spatula. Cook until the milk is reduced to about 100ml.

. Cool slightly then pour the mixture into the blender scraping the pan clean and blend. Pass through a strainer squeezing out as much of the milk as you can and only then discard the ginger and cardamom pulp. (We actually use it to make tea afterwards as it is not that useless!)

. Pour the strained milk back into the pan along with the cream and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.

. Split the vanilla pods down the middle with a sharp knife. Scrape out the seeds with the knife and add the seeds and the pods (or the vanilla extract) to the cream and milk mixture. Stir well to combine and slowly bring back up to simmering point.

. Pour the caster sugar into a bowl with the yolks and whisk together until well combined and frothy.

. Pour the hot cream and milk mixture (along with the vanilla pods, if using) over the egg yolks and sugar. Stir thoroughly for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar. (At this stage you can chill the mixture in the fridge and make the brulées the following day, or carry on with the recipe.)

. Add the saffron as desired. (We like it to look nice and deep coloured)

. Discard the vanilla pod or pods and pour or ladle the brûlée mixture into the serving dish (or dishes).

. Place the crème brûlée dish or dishes into a deep baking tray and pour hot water into the tray, until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the dishes (this is called a bain-marie).

. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 Place the bain-marie into the preheated oven and cook the crème brûlées for about 30-35 minutes or until set firm but still with a slight wobble. Allow to cool. You can place the brûlées in the fridge at this stage if you're not serving them immediately but as soon as they are completely cool cover them with cling wrap so the top does not dry out and they don't pick up odours from the fridge.

. For the topping, sprinkle half of the remaining caster sugar on top of the brûlées. Heat the surface with a mini-blowtorch until it forms a thin layer of caramel.

Sprinkle over the rest of the sugar and caramelise with the mini-blowtorch once again, to form a thick crunchy layer. The crème brûlées are ready to serve immediately or in 2-3 hours.

What to drink: Cyrus matched this crème brulée made into tartlets with a glorious fortified sweet wine called Carthagène which I made my match of the week a couple of months ago. A late harvest viognier or vendange tardive gewurztramine would also be delicious.

Recipe © Cyrus Todiwala OBE. Photo is of the tartlet version.

Rosemary, Polenta and Olive Oil Biscuits

At this time of year no-one wants to spend too much time in the kitchen but it's well worth the few minutes it takes to rustle up these incredibly easy and delicious home-made biscuits from food writer Xanthe Clay's lovely book The Contented Cook - perfect, she says, with ice cream or with raspberries and cream

Xanthe says they take well to other flavourings too. "Try a teaspoonful of lavender flowers, the grated zest of lemon and orange, a teaspoonful of crushed fennel seed, or ½ teaspoonful of ground cardamom seeds."

Makes 8–12

150g flour

30g fine polenta

60g caster sugar

Pinch of salt

Leaves from 3 x 10cm rosemary sprigs

90ml light olive oil (not extra virgin)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Chop the leaves of the rosemary finely, then stir them with the oil into the mixture. Pat into a round about 0.5cm thick on a baking tray (no need to grease it, although a sheet of greaseproof paper is a good idea, as much to protect the biscuits from over-heating as anything), or use a 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin. Mark into squares or segments with a knife. Chill for an hour in the fridge, then bake for about 40 minutes at 150°C/gas mark 2 until very lightly coloured. Leave for five minutes or so on the tray (or in the tin) then lift on to a rack to finish cooling.

From The Contented Cook by Xanthe Clay. Published by Kyle Books, priced £19.99. Photography: Tara Fisher

Real Texas Style Beef Brisket

With July 4th falling on a Saturday chances are you’re going to be thinking barbecue this weekend. Here’s an authentic Texan style BBQ recipe from “Slow Fire, The Beginners Guide To Barbecue” by Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ.

I’ve kept the American measurements though you can convert them using this guide

Dr BBQ writes: A real Texas brisket is always a whole brisket cooked with most of the fat intact. It’s seasoned with something simple and a little spicy and then cooked for a long time over oak wood. The traditional accompaniments are sliced raw onion, pickles, and jalapenos. Hot sauce is often used as well but traditional barbecue sauce is not.

Makes about 12 to 15 servings

¼ cup Barbecue Rub #67 (recipe below)

¼ cup Dr. BBQ’s Fired Up Fajita Rub (recipe below)

1 USDA Choice whole brisket, about 12 pounds

3 cans of beer, preferably Lone Star

In a small bowl mix together the Barbecue Rub #67 and the Fired Up Fajita Rub.

Prepare your cooker to cook indirect at 235° using oak wood smoke for flavour. With a boning knife trim out some of the fat that is in between the two muscles so they will cook evenly. Trim any extreme fat from the top, but most of it should remain.

Wet the whole brisket with half of one of the beer cans. Season all the exposed meat liberally with the mixed rubs. Drink the other half of the beer. Place the brisket in the smoker fat side down. Cook for four hours. Pour half of another beer can on the brisket and cook another 4 hours. Drink the other half of the beer.

Pour half the remaining beer can on the brisket and flip to cook fat side up. Drink the other half of the beer. Cook until the the brisket is tender when you stab it with a skewer. This should take about another four hours and about the time the internal temperature reaches 195°.

Wrap the brisket in foil and transfer to an empty ice chest. Top with a lot of crumpled newspaper. Let the brisket rest for two hours minimum and up to four hours. Remove to a cutting board and trim away all of the fat. Slice the brisket through both muscles across the grain and about 3/8” thick. Serve with sliced raw onion, pickles, and hot sauce.

Barbecue Rub # 67

This is a very traditional barbecue rub that’s good on just about anything. I like the texture of this one to remain a little bit on the coarse side so I use it as is. If you want a finer grind just put it in the food processor with a metal blade and pulse until it reaches the consistency you’d like.

½ cup Sugar In The Raw

½ cup Kosher salt

3 tablespoons chili powder

3 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

½ teaspoon ground coffee

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. May be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to six months.

Makes about 1½ cups

Dr. BBQ’s Fired Up Fajita Rub

This is a big bold spicy rub that will really fire things up! This one’s not for the meek and mild eaters! It’s great for fajita or taco meat where the tortillas will help mellow things out. But also try it on meats that will be used as part of a salad. It just might help out your pot of chili too.

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup good quality chili powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. May be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to six months.

Makes about 1 cup

All recipes © “Slow Fire, The Beginners Guide To Barbecue” by ray lampe, Dr. BBQ and published by Chronicle books. Available through Amazon

What to drink: I'm not sure I'd go along with the Lone Star but an American or American-style IPA would be cracking. Or possibly even a stout.

Upside-down blueberry and elderflower cake

If you're thinking of celebrating Midsummer Day this weekend here’s a fabulous pudding cake from my friend Scandinavian food writer, Signe Johansen’s Scandilicious Baking.

Signe writes: There is something gloriously nostalgic and retro about fruity upside-down cakes. I adore this blueberry one with its beautiful deep indigo colour, hint of elderflower and light sponge made with Greek yoghurt. This is a real crowd-pleaser, great for celebrations and special occasions. This cake doesn’t keep well as the blueberries lose their fresh intensity relatively quickly after cooking, so be sure to get your friends around to enjoy it on the day of baking!

Serves 8-10

400g fresh or frozen blueberries

50ml elderflower cordial

4 medium eggs

250g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g refined spelt (or plain) flour

125g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp fine sea salt

125g butter, melted

125g Greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3-4, and lightly oil a 23cm round cake tin (springform, if you have one). Wrap the outside of the tin in a layer of aluminium foil to create a tight seal, in order to prevent any blueberry juice leaking out. Spread the blueberries evenly over the base of the cake tin, drizzle with elderflower cordial and set aside to macerate.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl (or mixer) for 5-8 minutes until pale and fluffy. When you remove the whisk, the trail of mixture it leaves on the surface should remain visible for 2-3 seconds. Combine the flour, almonds, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

Gradually mix the melted butter, yoghurt and dry ingredients in to the beaten egg mixture in stages, alternating between them, until you have a smooth, thick cake batter.

Pour the batter over the blueberries and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top looks golden and feels springy and firm to the touch. The sides should be slighty lifting away from the edges of the cake tin. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin before releasing the springform (if applicable), carefully flipping the cake upside down on to a plate so that the blueberries are facing upwards and removing the tin.

This cake is wonderful just as it is, or you could try it with a scoop of good vanilla or clotted cream ice cream, or perhaps a dollop of Greek yoghurt or crème fraîche.

Variations:
Try this with raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, mixed summer berries, cherries, cloudberries or thinly sliced or quartered plums, apricots or rhubarb. Apples work really well too, but be sure to cut in thin slices and fan them out on the bottom of the cake tin as this helps to cook them properly (plus it looks pretty!)

What to drink: I'm not sure you really need wine with cake but if you're serving it as a pudding you might fancy a glass. I'd go for a sweet Bordeaux like Sauternes or a wine from one of the Bordeaux satellites like Loupiac, Cadillac or Saussignac or a late harvest Sauvignon. An auslese or other late harvest riesling should work too.

© Signe Johansen 2012. Recipe extracted from Scandilicious Baking by Signe Johansen, published by Saltyard Books, £25 www.signejohansen.com