• Make your spiced citrus crème caramel up to 2 days ahead.

    Recipe and styling by Claire Ferrandi 

    Photograph by Dylan Swart

    Spiced citrus crème caramel with honeyed grapes

    Serves: 6
    Total Time: 1 hr + 2 hrs, to set

    Ingredients

    • CRÈME CARAMEL

    • 160g demerara sugar
    • 80ml (1/3 cup) water
    • 250ml (1 cup) milk
    • 250ml (1 cup) fresh cream
    • 5 star anise
    • 1 cinnamon quill
    • 3 cardamom pods
    • 80g castor sugar
    • 3 large eggs
    • 4 large egg yolks
    • pinch salt
    • zest of 1 naartjie/orange
    • HONEYED GRAPES

    • 15ml (1 tbsp) butter
    • 60ml (4 tbsp) honey
    • 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
    • pinch salt
    • 500g seedless red grapes

    Instructions

    1

    Preheat the oven to 150˚C and thoroughly grease a 23cm-diameter shallow round cake tin. Heat the demerara sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, without stirring at all, and simmer until thick and syrupy, 10 minutes. Pour the caramel into the bottom of the cake tin and set aside to cool.

    2

    In a saucepan, combine the milk and fresh cream with the spices, and bring to a boil. Add the castor sugar and remove from heat, then strain through a fine mesh sieve.

    3

    Whisk the 3 eggs and 4 yolks together, slowly whisk in the hot milk-cream mixture, and add the salt and naartjie/orange zest. Pour into the caramel-filled cake tin, then place the tin in a roasting tray lined with a clean tea towel. Fill the tray halfway up the sides of the cake tin with hot water. Bake in the oven, 20 – 25 minutes, until the caramel is slightly wobbly in the middle, but just set. Remove from the roasting tray and refrigerate, at least 2 hours (but you could make this up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate, covered with cling film).

    4

    For the honeyed grapes, place the butter, honey, vanilla essence and salt in a frying pan, and heat over medium heat, 1 minute, then add the grapes and allow to cook over medium heat, about 5 – 10 minutes, tossing the grapes around occasionally to coat in the caramelly liquid.

    5

    Turn out the crème caramel by running a knife around the rim of the tin and place a round serving platter with a lip (to catch the runny caramel too) on top. Flip the platter over to release the caramel. Serve topped with the slightly warmed honeyed grapes.

    Imka Webb
    Author

    Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine.  www.imkawebb.com