Bijou Creme Brulee with Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients

• 3 Bijou
• 1 quart milk
• ½ quart cream
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 10 egg yolks
• 3 whole eggs
• Half bunch fresh thyme, chopped
• 6 tablespoons raw sugar for caramelizing the brûlée
• 1 pound rhubarb, peeled
• 1 pound strawberries, stemmed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

Cut the Bijou in pieces and add to milk and cream with salt and pepper, and warm in a saucepot, but not to the point of boiling. Put aside. In a bowl, put the egg yolks and whole eggs, mix together, then add a pinch of salt and pepper and the chopped fresh thyme.

Carefully combine both mixtures and then slowly mix together using a hand blender. Season to taste. Pour the custard into crème brûlée containers and bake in the oven in a water bath at 275°F for 30 minutes until firm.

Let cool, and then just before serving, burn with raw sugar under the broiler or with a torch.

 Syrup

Dice rhubarb and strawberries and put in a pot with sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Cook for 10 minutes until it has a compote thick consistency. Cool and serve at room temperature as a quenelle (teaspoon) on top of the crème brûlée.

Chef’s Suggestion

Culinary Student Experimentation: Chef Adrian Westrope, pastry chef and instructor at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont, easily rose to our challenge of making a crème brûlée using goat cheese!

The talented student team worked with two different cheeses, our Fresh Crottin and aged Bijou. They creatively mixed the cheese in the custard, melted it in a pan, or crumbled it over the brûlée before baking. This resulting recipe balances sweet and sour, pairs brilliantly with the acidity of the strawberry compote. No wonder NECI has been voted among the top three best culinary schools in the United States.