Crème Brûlée au Mascarpone ~ 馬斯卡朋乳酪烤布蕾

It is sometime the simplest things that are the most rewarding and crème brûlée is one of the few desserts that belong to this category. I have made crème brûlée numerous times from classic to espresso to chocolate flavor then one day I found this recipe that use mascarpone; a recipe of yet another Japanese patissier – chef Susumu Koyama of Patissier es koyama. I found this recipe to be more interesting than any of the crème brûlée recipes I tried because his used 2 types of soft cheese, mascarpone and cream cheese. I thought this is very original and I must try it myself. I had the perfect reason to make it over the weekend when I invited a friend over for brunch =)




This recipe was simple enough; it was prepared the same way we made classic crème brûlée. I do suggest that the cheese must be softened before being whisk together with the yolks so you won’t see lumps in your batter. Also, you must not skip the step where it tells you to sieve the batter before pouring into ramekins. This way it will sieve out any solids in the batter so the crème brûlée will have that velvety texture that we all love.

Oh boy, hats off to chef Koyama, it was so creamy but not heavy at all! Luscious, melt on the tip of your tongue but not overly sweetened. I love it so did my guest and I hope you’ll enjoy this simple but satisfying dessert as much as we did.




Crème Brûlée au Mascarpone
Serves 4 ~ 6

150g mascarpone cheese
25g cream cheese
175g heavy whipping cream
95g whole milk
¼ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
90g egg yolks
45g granulated sugar
6tsp caster sugar for the caramelized top

Prep:
- Soften the cream cheese by wrapping it in plastic food wrap and place in microwave on low for 1 minute.
- Preheat oven to 275°F/140°C.

Bring cream, milk, vanilla pod and seeds just to the point of boiling in a saucepan over medium heat, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until blended. Add the mascarpone cheese, whisk until blended; add the softened cream cheese to the yolk mixture, whisk until smooth and blended.

Add the hot cream little by little, whisking as you go until all is incorporated (never stop whisking or the eggs will scramble). Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a big measuring cup with spout and skim away any foam on top. Put the ramekins in a roasting pan then pour boiling water into the pan to about halfway up the side of the ramekins. Fill the ramekins evenly with the cheese mixture. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until set but the center should still jiggle slightly. Remove ramekins from hot water bath and let cool. Cover with clear wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Just before serving, evenly sieve 1 to 2 teaspoons of caster sugar on the surface then using a blowtorch torch gradually in small, spiraling circles until caramelized. Use light brown sugar for the caramelized top if you like a stronger favor. Serve immediately.



有時候最令人回味的往往是用料及做法均簡單的甜點﹐而烤布蕾就是其中之一。一道我常製作的甜點﹐最常出現在我家的飯桌上的口味有經典的香草﹑濃郁的咖啡至微甘的巧克力﹐也都是家人朋友喜歡的口味。當然偶而會嘗試較特別的口味﹐不過其他的人評價是參差不齊但也不損我嘗試新方子的決心。有一天在翻書的時候居然給我看到一個添加了軟乳酪的方子﹐當下好不驚艷哦﹐是從未看到過的組合﹗你猜阿Vi是從那裡看到的方子的呢﹖ 沒錯﹐又是自一位日本的甜點師傅 - Patissier es Koyama的小山進師傅的食譜。吸引人的地方是他用上2種軟乳酪 - 馬斯卡朋乳酪及奶油乳酪。很獨特﹐光看文字就好像嚐到那濃厚的乳香。剛好有朋友來用餐﹐就決定做這個來招待她。

做法跟經典的烤布蕾沒差多少﹐只是多了拌進乳酪的這一步而已。很簡單﹐所以沒有借口偷懶。軟乳酪一定要放軟才攪拌﹐而且拌完後一定要用濾網過濾乳酪糊才倒進烤杯中﹐確保2種乳酪交織融合﹐這樣烤布蕾的質地才滑潤。

好了﹐說了這麼久究竟味道如何呢﹖就像以往跟著日本甜點書製作過的所有點心﹐鮮少有失望之作﹗味道是厚實的但又濃而不膩﹐質地是綿如慕斯﹐輕易地在舌尖化開。我的客人也給予它高度的評價呢。希望你也會迷上這道甜點喔~




馬斯卡朋乳酪烤布蕾
4 ~ 6人份

150g 馬斯卡朋乳酪
25g 奶油乳酪
175g 鮮奶油
95g 牛奶
¼ 香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
90g 蛋黃
45g 砂糖
6茶匙 細砂糖 (焦化用)


事前準備:
- 將奶油乳酪用保鮮膜包起來﹐放進微波爐﹐以弱溫加熱1分鐘﹐使其軟化。
- 預熱烤箱至275°F/140°C。

將鮮奶油﹑牛奶﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱煮至沸騰後離火。將蛋黃和砂糖倒進拌盤中﹐用打蛋器攪打至均勻顏色變淡黃。加入馬斯卡朋乳酪﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑後加入軟化的奶油乳酪﹐攪拌至融合順滑。將熱奶漿慢慢地注入乳酪糊中﹐邊倒邊攪拌﹐拌至順滑後用濾網過濾。在乳酪糊上方鋪上一片餐巾紙﹐輕輕地吸取掉泡沫。

將陶瓷烤杯放進有深度的烤盤裡﹐然後注入熱開水達烤杯一半的高度﹐再將乳酪糊倒入烤杯中至九分滿。放進預熱過的烤箱裡烘烤35 - 40分鐘。當搖晃烤杯時布蕾中央會抖動但週邊不動即烤好了。取出待放涼後蓋上保鮮膜﹐然後放冰箱冷卻3個小時或一個晚上。

享用前用小濾網在烤布蕾表面均勻地撒上一層細砂糖(也可加紅糖添加風味)﹐再用烹飪用的噴槍加以燒烤﹐使其焦糖化。