White chocolate, orange and Grand Marnier crèmes brûlées

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150ºC/130ºC fan/gas 2. Mix 30g of the caster sugar with the egg yolks in a heatproof mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the double cream until it’s starting to steam (don’t let it boil). Pour the hot cream over the egg yolks, whisking with a balloon whisk until smooth
2. Put the bowl over a saucepan of gently steaming but not simmering water and add the white chocolate, orange zest, Grand Marnier and thyme. Slowly warm through, letting the chocolate melt gently. Once it has melted and slightly thickened, strain the mixture into a jug and divide equally among 6 ramekins.
3. Arrange the ramekins in a large roasting tin and carefully pour boiling water from a kettle into the tin until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cook in the oven for 18-20 minutes until the custard has set but still wobbles when nudged.
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5. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge for 1 hour (or up to 24 hours) until ready to serve. Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over the custards and caramelise using a cook’s blowtorch. If you don’t have one, you can put them under a hot grill for a few minutes, but in either case, remove the heat source when the sugar is a little lighter than you want it, as it keeps caramelising for around 30 seconds afterwards. Leave the caramel to set and harden for a few minutes before serving.