sweets for my sweet
i never need an excuse to pull the stops out and create a special meal but it’s nice when something comes along to give you a nudge. valentine’s day is an obvious reason to make an effort. and to add extra meaning to the day it’s david and my anniversary. next week it’ll be three years since we met, so there are plenty of reasons for celebrating!
something sweet is always high on david’s list of things to eat which, coupled with meeta’s monthly mingle, gave me the perfect excuse to make something special - lavender fruit brulee.
i can’t tell you how this tastes as i’m not serving it up until later this evening (we're away on the day itself) but i know all the separate bits taste good on their own! i’ll update this post later and let you know the verdict…
the verdict: the portions are quite large, next time i'd use less cream and more fruit so it's a little lighter. the flavours work well together , with the lavender coming through at just the right level - the fruit with the lavender syrup would make a nice fruit salad. the strands of crunchy toffee were lovely.
lavender fruit brulee* (serves: 2)
½ tsp dried lavender flowers
40g caster sugar
1 lemon
100g strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces
½ a mango, cut into small pieces
75g raspberries
50g granulated sugar
200ml chilled double cream
put the lavender, caster sugar and a few strips of lemon zest in a pan with 50ml water. put on a low heat and stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves. stop stirring and leave to simmer while you prepare the fruit.
mix the fruit with the strained lavender syrup and split between your dishes. whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks and spoon this over the fruit.
put the granulated sugar in a pan with 50ml water. put on a medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves, then boil vigorously until it caramelises – take it off the heat as soon as it turns golden. leave to cool for a minute then spoon the caramel over the cream, making stripes and swirls (it won’t cover the cream completely).
place in the fridge until ready to serve.
* this is a waitrose recipe