On a recent trip to visit family in Rocky Cape (NW Tasmania), I was stoked to see a roadside sign advertising duck eggs. I made Pop do a U-turn so I could buy some. I retrieved a dozen from the honesty box for a mere $4 and I headed home happy. I’ve mostly been enjoying them soft boiled with toast soldiers to dip into the rich yolk. I understand duck eggs make great sponge cake. My Pop used to be quite a sponge whiz, but he kept postponing our cooking date. When I was told duck eggs also make an excellent baked custard, I was hooked on the idea of turning them into crème brulee. With all the wonderful blackberries around, I couldn’t resist serving the brulee in teacups with freshly foraged blackberries. You could serve them with some other exciting seasonal fruit, or not.
Makes 3-4
1 | cup | cream |
½ | vanilla bean | |
¼ | cup | caster sugar |
100 | grams | duck egg,*beaten |
1 | cup | milk |
1 – 1 ½ | tablespoons | sugar (additional) |
blackberries or other seasonal fruit, to serve |
*Favour the yolk over the white. I weighed one egg, then added the yolk of another before filling up the weight with white. This would probably be even more amazing if you used about two egg yolks and one whole egg.
Slice open the vanilla bean. Scrape the seeds out and place the seeds and pod in a small saucepan with the cream. Heat the cream very gently for 10 minutes to warm through. Set aside to cool, allowing the flavours to develop. Whisk in the caster sugar, egg and milk till well combined.
Pour the custard mixture into four ramekins or oven safe teacups. Place the teacups in a small oven dish in the oven. Fill the oven dish with enough water to go halfway up the sides of the ramekins, being careful not to splash any into the custards. Bake at 130oC for two hours or until the custard is set, but still has a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
When you are ready to serve, sprinkle a little sugar over the top of each of the custards. Using a kitchen blow torch, melt the sugar till it melts and turns a dark golden colour. Serve with blackberries or other seasonal fruit.
Susan, this sounds divine! Love the photos too.
🙂 thanks Liz!
I love having Nan’s china to play with for my pictures. I actually really love her whole set of Brambly Hedge china. They have such lovely stories attached to them and highlight the beauty of the seasons.
Deliciousness in a teacup! I’m a big fan of brûlée … never had the opportunity to make it with duck eggs, though. What a great find x
Dear Susan,
I am a huge fan of soft boil eggs but growing up in Asia, it was about a few drops of soy sauce and white pepper onto the eggs and mopping it up with kaya toast. Awesome brekky.
http://chopinandmysaucepan.com/teh-tarik-rafees-corner-singapore