Recommendations · Wine and food

Crème brûlée with Prince de Saint Aubin Sauternes

A crème brûlée with vanilla and a layer of caramelised sugar on top. Sauternes is the sweet wine from Bordeaux that dares to answer sweet with sweet.

Back to the recommendations

Bottle of Prince de Saint Aubin Sauternes, wine

From the shelf

The bottle

Prince de Saint Aubin Sauternes comes from Bordeaux in France and is made from sauvignon blanc, sémillon and muscadelle. The wine is at 13.5 percent by volume and the bottle holds 50 centilitres. The colour is golden yellow, the nose has acacia and honey, and the taste is sweet.

Prince de Saint Aubin Sauternes

The combination

Why this works together

With a dessert there is one hard rule: the wine must be sweeter than the dish. If it is not, it tastes sour and thin right away next to the custard. Sauternes has that residual sugar in abundance, and enough acidity beside it not to become syrupy. That acidity wipes away the cream fat of the custard and keeps the mouth alert. The honey and acacia notes connect with the caramel of the burnt sugar, and the vanilla in the custard finds an equally round counterpart in the glass.

At the table

The dish

  • Before 4 people
  • Ready in 40 minutes, plus 4 hours of cooling
  • Type dessert

What you need

  • 500 millilitres whipping cream
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 80 grams fine granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 4 tablespoons cane sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt

How to make it

  1. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees.
  2. Slit the vanilla pod open and scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds and the pod with the cream in a saucepan and bring it almost to the boil. Turn off the heat and let it all infuse for ten minutes.
  3. Whisk the egg yolks loose with the caster sugar and the salt. Do not whisk until fluffy: bubbles would later form a foamy layer instead of a smooth custard.
  4. Fish out the vanilla pod and pour the warm cream in a thin stream onto the egg yolks, stirring continuously.
  5. Strain the mixture and skim the foam off the top.
  6. Divide the crème over four ovenproof ramekins and place them in the middle of the oven.
  7. Leave them for 45 to 55 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle still moves slightly when you tap the dish.
  8. Let the ramekins cool and put them in the fridge for at least four hours. Just before serving, sprinkle a tablespoon of cane sugar over each ramekin and caramelise it with a torch or under a hot grill until it forms a glassy crust.

In the glass

Serving

Serve the wine at 8 to 10 degrees in a small white wine glass. Cold keeps the sweetness in check; too warm and it turns syrupy. Half a bottle is more than enough for four small glasses, and once opened Sauternes keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

All about Prince de Saint Aubin SauternesBack to Recommendations from ’t Bockje

Wij verkopen geen alcohol aan personen onder de 18 jaar. NIX18