My friends and I are photo foodies. We go out to eat or cook something and if it’s good we’ll text each other the pics. The other day my friend lit my stomach afire with desire when she sent a picture text of one of my favorite desserts–crème brulee.
Crème Brulee is something I haven’t had since becoming vegan because it is a rich custard traditionally made with eggs and milk or cream. Seeing this dish in her picture brought back my craving and I wondered if the dish could be veganized.
We set about doing the research. Took a little from here. A little from there. This is what we came up with.
The key is coconut milk, which helps make the creamy custard happen, and then adds the unexpected flavor of coconut. Something I never experienced in the basic dairy version.
Add the flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and almond, and my favorite has come back to my vegan home!
Ingredients
• 1 14 oz can of coconut milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• ½ cup sugar (you can use other sweeteners here- convert them to ½ cup white sugar equivalent)
• Sprinkles of white sugar for crust- in this case white sugar works best
• ¼ cup almond milk
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup cornstarch for thickening
Instructions
Mix cornstarch and almond milk in a separate bowl. Make sure well mixed.
Heat coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, almond, salt, and cinnamon together. Stir often and make sure mixture doesn’t burn and clump on saucepan bottom. Careful with heat. Do not bring to boil but keep a good steam going for about 4 minutes once you reach medium heat.
Then, slowly stir in the cornstarch and milk mixture until it’s thickened. This will take just a couple of minutes more. Don’t overcook. You want it to be smooth and well mixed. So stir well but not for a long time!
Pour the mix into your brulee dishes. Makes 6-8 dishes. Less if you choose deep custard dishes.
Cover each dish with foil or plastic. They have to cool so if you’re serving them soon, flash cool them in the freezer for 30 min, then an hour in the fridge. Some people like crème brulee warm. Some cold. Your choice.
Raspberry Sauce
Now make your (optional but recommended) raspberry sauce:
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tbsp Corn Starch for thickener if you like
Blend and crush in blender. Strain seeds out and heat on medium heat adding cornstarch. Set aside to cool.
Sprinkle a good amount of sugar over your dish and shake it to spread a nice layer. Then sprinkle more depending on your sugar craving. More sugar will make a thicker, crackly crust, but not too much! Remember this is “evil” white sugar so be careful.
Use your brulee torch to paint the sugar to a golden brown. Keep the torch moving! Let set for a few minutes. Drizzle sauce on top, add a couple of whole raspberries and enjoy!
