HISTORY COOKBOOK
Creme à la Carême
This French dessert is named after Marie-Antoine Carême, the famous early 19th-century chef who devised sumptuous banquets for the prince regent, later George IV. This recipe serves 10 to 12 people.
Difficulty: 5/10 Time: 5 hours 15 mins
INGREDIENTS
18 sponge fingers
100ml kirsch
135g orange jelly, made up with
250ml hot water
Filling
4 egg yolks
100g golden caster sugar
250ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split
4 leaves of gelatine, soaked in cold water
500ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
200g chopped candied orange or
200g chopped mixed peel
METHOD
1. Lay the sponge fingers on a plate, drizzle with the kirsch and then brush with the jelly. Line a pudding basin with the biscuits, positioning them vertically. Then pour the jelly down the side of the mould, making sure the biscuits stay in place. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. To make the filling, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Combine the milk and vanilla in a saucepan, bring to the boil and then pour through a sieve onto the egg mixture. Whisk to combine, then return to the pan and heat gently, stirring until it thickens. Pour the mixture into a clean bowl, then squeeze the water from the gelatine and whisk the gelatine into the custard. Leave to cool completely.
3. Fold the cream into the cooled custard one-third at a time, then fold in the candied orange. Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin up to the top of the sponge fingers, then refrigerate the dessert for 3 hours.
4. Invert the basin onto a plate and place a hot cloth on the outside to loosen it. Remove the basin and serve immediately.
Recipe sourced from BBC Good Food magazine