Orange Pots de Crème

Isn’t nature clever, making citrus fruit abundant in winter when we need its vitamin C most? These easy custard pots are a great way to use excess oranges; the recipe is inspired by one from Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion using mandarins. Tahbilk Cane Cut Marsanne is a fabulous wine match for these easy little orange pots de crème; the grape vine’s growing arms (called canes) are cut, so the attached grapes raisin on the vine, concentrating flavour and sweetness. It has a great balance between luscious marmalade fruit and citrus acidity.

Serves 8

Ingredients

600ml single cream
4 oranges
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
½ cup castor sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
Icing sugar, for dusting
Tuiles, or similar thin crisp biscuits, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 160ºC.
Pour cream into a small saucepan and finely grate the orange zest over the cream.
Bring to just below boiling point, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, juice enough oranges to give ¼ cup of strained juice and set the remainder aside.
Whisk orange juice, Grand Marnier, sugar, egg and egg yolk together until sugar has dissolved.
Whisk in cream and zest.
Strain through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing well to extract as much flavour as possible from the zest.
Pour into 8 x 100ml ramekins and bake in a bain marie (see above) for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, segment remaining oranges (see video below and learn how here) and set aside.
Leave ramekins to cool in bain marie then refrigerate, for at least an hour, until ready to serve.
Serve cold or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar with orange segments and biscuits on the side.