abowlandpushthemixtureupthe
sidestocoolitquickly.Leavefor
10minutesoruntilithas cooled to
room temperature.
6 Slowlyaddtheeggs,beatingwell
aftereachaddition,untilthemixture
issmoothanddropsofftheendof
awoodenspoonwhentapped.(You
may not need all the eggs or you may
needtoaddasplashofmilk.)
7 Spoonthemixtureintothepiping
bagfittedwiththe12mmnozzle
andpipe8x10cmlengthsonto
each prepared baking sheet, leaving
roomforthechouxtoexpandin
the oven. Bake for 20 minutes,
thenreducetheheatto180°C/160°C
fan/gas4andbakefor15minutes
more.Coolonawirerack.Repeat
with the remaining choux on the
otherbaking sheet/s.
8 Meanwhile make the chocolate
glaze. Gently heat the sugar and
50mlcoldwaterinasmallpanuntil
dissolved. Turn up the heat and
bubbleuntilitturnsalightamber
colour.Removefromtheheatand
stirinthecream,another50mlcold
waterand the dark chocolate.
Return to the heat and warm gently
untilmeltedandcombined.
9 Usingabreadknife,halvethe
cooled eclairs horizontally, then dip
thetopsintheglaze(seetips)and
set aside. Spoon the crème
pâtissière into the piping bag with
the10mmplainnozzleandpipeit
ontothebases.Addslicesofbanana
andtopwiththeglazedlidstoserve.
PER ÉCLAIR (FOR 25)214kcals,
9.6gfat(5.3gsaturated),3.2gprotein,
28.4g carbs (22.8g sugars), 0.1g salt,
0.6g fibre
Saron and orange
blossom crème caramels
with cardamom and
orange rhubarb
SERVES 8. HANDS-ON TIME 35 MIN,
OVEN TIME 1 HOUR 10-15 MIN
Good crème caramels are so
muchmorecomplexthanthe
sickly-sweet pots of French
hypermarket infamy. They
requirebraveryanddaringfrom
the cook as the caramel must be
cookedwaypastgoldeninto
amber, mahogany and a whisker
away from burnt. That edge of
dark,bittercaramelagainstthe
sweet, creamy custard makes for
themostdelightfulflavour.
Sometimesit’sbestnottomess
with classics, but I’ve taken the
libertyofaddingaMiddle
Eastern flourish to this one.MAKE
AHEADMake the caramels and
rhubarbadayahead,then
cover and chill separately.
FOOD
TEAM’S
TIPFreezeeggwhitesinafood
bag marked with the date/
quantity for up to 3 months.•400grhubarb,cutinto 7cm lengths
•200gcastersugar- Grated zest 1 orange, plus 125ml
orange juice - 6 green cardamom pods, bashed
FOR THE CRÈME CARAMELS
•225gcastersugar
•2tsporangeblossomwater
•200mlwholemilk- Tiny pinch saffron, crushed in
1tbspwarmmilk
•350mldoublecream - 2 free-range medium eggs, plus
4 egg yolks (see tip)
YOU’LLALSO NEED...- 8 x 150ml (medium) ramekins
1 Heattheovento200°C/180°Cfan/
gas6.Tosstherhubarbinaroasting
tin with the 200g sugar, orange zest
and juice and cardamom to coat.
Roast for 10-15 minutes until tender.
Cool, then put in a serving bowl,
coverandchilluntil needed (see
Make Ahead).
2 For the crème caramels, combine
150g of the sugar w ith 10 0ml cold
waterinapanandheatgentlyuntil
thesugardissolves.Keepon
amediumheatuntilitturnsintoa
deep brown caramel, taking care
nottoburnit–watchitlikeahawk.
Whenready,quicklypourthecaramel
evenlyamongtheramekins,tilting
them to coat the bases and sides
evenly.Putasidetocoolandset.
3 Reduce the oven temperature to140°C/120°C fan/gas 1. In a bowl,
whisk together the orange blossom
water, milk, saffron (and its soaking
milk) and cream. In a separate bowl,
whisk together the whole eggs and
yolkswiththeremaining75gsugar.
Slowly pour the cream mixture over
the eggs, whisking all the time.
4 Put the ramekins in a roasting tin,
then pour the custard mixture
evenlyamongthem,ontopofthe
caramel. Fill the tin with enough hot
watertocomehalfwayupthesides
of the ramekins. Bake for 1 hour,
then remove from the roasting tin
and leave to cool completely. Chill
foran hour to firm up before
serving.Whenreadytoserve,run
aknifearoundtheinsideofeach
ramekinandinvertontoaplate.
Servewiththerhubarb.
PER SERVING471kcals, 28.7g fat
(16.4g saturated), 5.5g protein,
47.2g carbs (47.2g sugars), 0.1g salt,
1g fibrethe residency.
INSPIRED? WATCH THE MOVIE...
Caramel(2007)
wasdirectedby
Nadine Labaki,
who’salsooneof
thestars,andis
available to watch
with English
subtitles from
amazon.co.uk.deliciousmagazine.co.uk 63