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. I found a fabulous wine match for these easy little orange pots de crème, Tahbilk Cane Cut Marsanne; the grape vine’s growing arms (called canes) are cut, so that the attached grapes raisin on the vine, concentrating flavour and sweetness. It has a great balance between luscious marmalade fruit and citrus acidity. To make a bain marie (or water bath), place a tea towel in the bottom of a baking dish, put the ramekins on top, evenly spaced, and pour boiling water in until it comes half-way up the sides of the ramekins. For details on how to segment oranges, see Manchego, Fennel, Orange & Walnut Salad.
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 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.
