Malt Brulee or to give it its full title, Malt Flavoured Crème Brûlée is a new dessert that is now a regular fixture on my small “Sweet Things I like” menu.
I love a good crème brûlée, and trust me, I have tried many! It´s essentially a rich custard with a crunchy caramel lid or topping. I love the smooth silky texture of the set custard and the sweet bitterness of the caramel.
The name Crème Brûlée is 100% French (though that does not mean it was invented in France, if you believe everything that you read it can either be British or Spanish in origin! :shock: ), in Spanish it can be called “Crema Quemada”, both translate to “Burnt Cream”.
It is similar to its culinary cousin “Crema Catalana”, which is sometimes incorrectly referred to the Spanish version of crème brûlée, when in fact it is a different dessert, flavoured differently and cooked differently. The similarity lies in the texture of the custard and the burnt sugar topping, which is achieved by using a hot iron for the crema catalana and a grill or blowtorch in the case of the crème brûlée.
Commonly the dessert is flavoured with vanilla, however it can also be found on menus flavoured with coffee, chocolate, mango, orange, jasmine etc…
Why malt?
The reason I choose malt is because I was very impressed with a dessert that I had at the vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black in London during a visit in November 2011. On their menu was an “Iced Malt and Burnt Orange Marshmallow with Muscovado Sugar Meringue and Parsnip Purée”. It was the “Iced Malt” that got my attention. It was lovely! 
My brother King who used to work there managed to get hold of the recipe for me, one of the key ingredients was malt extract (obviously!).
Its not easy trying to track down some ingredients in the countryside of Spain, so after a while I gave up and filed the idea in my head.
Then on a recent trip to Belgium and after ordering a crème brûlée in every restaurant I ate in (yep! lunch and dinner!) and seeing and tasting the difference in textures and flavours between different restaurant versions, my mind was made up… I wanted to have a version on my menu, the way I like it, so I could share it with my clients.
I knew then that I wanted to make a malt crème brûlée.
With that idea in mind I visited a few health shops thinking that it would be easier to find malt extract in a large city. Boy was I wrong. 
Then it hit me! Actually it hit me over a few beers 
. There is no doubt that the best beers in the world are from Belgium!! It was over a discussion about the many different beers (all 1100 of them!) and how I used to brew my own that I realised that I knew exactly where to get hold of malt extract. I had some at home. I always had!!!
Once back in Spain I set about trying to make my “Malt Brulee” (no need for accents in my version!). After a few trials and errors I finally came up with a recipe that I liked.
This is a seriously rich dessert, loads of sugar, egg yolks and cream! But hey!, Sometimes you should spoil yourself. I know I do! 
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Malt Brulee
Ingredients:
- 300g Dried Malt Extract
- 125g Milk
- 1 litre cream (at least 35% fat, in Spanish its called “Nata para Montar”)
- 2tsp good quality Vanilla Extract (or use 1 Vanilla Bean if you can get it)
- 150g Egg Yolks (from about 8 eggs)
- 120g Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar for topping
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Method:
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I use Extra Dark Spray Malt from my stout making days. This dark malt extract adds a nice caramel colour to the finished dessert, using a light spray malt will result in a lighter, golden coloured dessert which is equally nice.
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It is cold here! That´s what you get by living in one of the “Casas Viejas”, or “Old Houses”, which this town is now named after. These typical white houses nestled in villages in southern Spain adorn picturesque postcards, they look so lovely and cosy, which they are, but what these pictures don´t tell is is that during the summer, they are hot as an oven (I am sure I can cook something Sous Vide by leaving it wrapped up and placed in a water bath throughout the night!), and during the winter they are hideously cold. All of my neighbours have chimneys, outside you can smell the wood smoke, sadly my house doesn’t have one, it just has gas powered heater that I sit next to, shivering… brrrrrr….
I take some of my annual holiday in November or December when the hotel is less busy. I tend to return to London, another cold place, to visit family and friends.
Obviously there are many, many places to visit in London. Once you are done with “all that tourist stuff”, Brick Lane is a great place to visit and unwind.
Famous for its Sunday Market, the place is teaming with the trendy set, the arty types and the bargain hunters.
There is a huge amount of street art and installations to be found on every corner. Its one of my favourite places in London, away from the hustle and bustle of the West End and it´s “tourist stuff”.
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Its not only the artwork that draws people here. Over the years the area has become quite trendy. Major labels have opened branches of their stores in the surrounding roads, however the best shopping can be found in the outdoor, street and covered markets. The latter are more vibrant on Sunday´s, the former offer a good reason to visit during the week.
“Back in the day”, the area was known as the “Curry Capital” of the UK. Every outlet that could be converted in to a kitchen and eating area housed a restaurant, it was also home to the famous 24 hours Bagel outlet (there are a few more now), a favourite place to stop off on the way home after a night out in the town.
Nowadays the cuisine is diverse as the residents of the area. In the street market area you can find good food from around the world on stalls and trailers, where the aroma of freshly grilled sausages mingles with the smokiness of the jerk chicken being cooked over coals. You can buy BBQ´ed satays on one stall and from their neighbour buy some freshly squeezed vegetable or fruit juices. You can get yourself a fajita, walk a few steps and get yourself a steaming bowl of noodles.
There is seating available at Ely´s Yard which is surrounded by more food stalls and trailers. In the corner you can find the Laughing Buddha trailer, home to Thai & Lao Cuisine and the kitchen of former Laocook members King & Laurene, my brother and his wife.
What looks like an abandoned trailer is actually home to a small kitchen and work area and deliberately covered in graffiti (arty eh?).
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My brother´s menu is simple and straight forward and prepared “a la minute”.
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I always warm up my appetite with a small plate of spicy fried noodles with tofu, which is extremely satisfying during the cold weather, especially with the homemade chili oil, before I head out and venture in to the labyrinth of other food stalls and trailers.
The queues can appear quite long during the lunch hour, but they move quite quickly.
Laurene also serves her homemade Pandan Chiffon Cake. There are only 12 slices of the light, airy and fragrant cake available daily. However if I´m in town, there are only 8 slices available during the days until I leave!
Apart from the menu on display, special orders can be made in advance. Fancy some Laotian Rice (aka Sticky Rice), Laotian Grilled Chicken (Ping Gai! also ask for some Lao Tomato Chutney!), Spicy Papaya Salad (Extra Spicy – I dare you!), Fresh Rice Paper Spring Rolls or even my special weird sounding childhood favourite Spaghetti with Chili, Roasted Chili Oil, Coriander, Garlic and Parmesan (yep, Spaghetti!).
It´s a far cry from the setting of a five star hotel or award winning restaurant, but street food has something special about it.
As a trained Chef and Maitre d´, King and Laurene also offer catering for private parties in the comfort of the clients kitchen and home, where they offer customised vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus featuring traditional and modern dishes. Once a Laocook, always a Laocook!
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Autumn is one of my favourite seasons. The weather is still great and the beaches are less busy. However, there are some draw backs. It´s the busiest time at the hotel! Therefore I only get to enjoy the beach for a few days at the beginning of September before the hotel gets fully booked, however I have my November holidays to look forward to.
With all the restaurants at the resort fully booked for every lunch and dinner service, there is little time to take photos and research new recipes or improve old ones. However, with my trusty iPhone to hand I can still take the odd photo now and again then upload them to my Facebook page.
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Some photos from my iPhone Album include:
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Sweet n Spicy Almonds.
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Raw almonds are baked in the oven for a few minutes before being mixed with a blend of heated sugar, honey, spices and chili oil. The result is a sweet-spicy-nutty snack that makes it difficult to only eat one!
Another snack that is really difficult to leave alone is flavoured with curry and paprika powder.
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Curry Caramel Popcorn.
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Popped corn is flavoured with melted butter, golden syrup, brown sugar, curry and paprika powders. Once the popcorn is mixed it is placed in a low oven for 50 minutes then allowed to cool, allowing the caramel mixture to harden, then it is placed in the fridge. Serving it from the fridge gives the morsels a extra crunchiness.
Another snack that we have been offering is a little more elegant.
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Foie Gras Maki with Foie Gras Crumbs.
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Not so good for Weight Watchers, but sometimes we need to have fun! The richness of the duck liver is complimented with a thick syrupy reduction of soy sauce and sugar.
If you thought that dish was elegant, wait until you see the next one!
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Light Mushroom and Egg Flan with Caviar.
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Eggs are removed from their shell and used to make a light “Mushroom Chawanmushi“. This savoury egg custard is cooked in the egg shell before being topped with a generous amount of caviar. Yummy!
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The Spanish love their “Pulpo” or octopus. Found in nearly every tapas bar, boiled or grilled octopus is a wonderful tapas to have with a beer or a chilled glass of Manzanilla Sherry. Though said to be Galicia´s most famous dish, it is served all over Spain and in other Mediterranean counrties and islands. When served boiled it is sometimes accompanied with boiled sliced potatoes and garnished with paprika, oilve oil and sea salt. Throughout Spain this dish is referred to as “Pulpo a la Gallega” (Galician Style Octopus), whether or not partnered with potato rounds.
It seemed fitting to have some octopus served in the restaurant.
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Octopus Tempura.
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Boiled octopus tentacles are dipped in a tempura flour before being briefly deep fried and served on top of a thick Balsamic Sweet Chili Sauce.
Moving away from the iPhone photos, I did manage to snap a few photos with my trusted Canon 450D (Rebel XSi).
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Intern Sasi preparing (and tasting!) her Mise en Place.
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Sasi is in her last month of her three month internship. A Graduate with honours from the French Culinary Institute and hailing from NYC she contacted me in June and wanted to come to my kitchens in Spain for a few months before setting off on an extraordinary travel itinerary that will take her to London, Australia and Asia. Like all good cooks, she loves eating and learning.
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In my last update I showed you my smoked mackerel, this time I used the same technique and added a few more ingredients to smoke some duck breast.
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Unlike the mackerel, duck breast benefits from being soaked in a brine beforehand which will help tenderise the meat.
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The breasts are hot smoked at a high temperature for a only a few minutes, enough to give it a nice colour and not overcook it.
The result is a juicy and smokey breast that is served thinly sliced “as is” or used to build a layer in a terrine.
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For some groups in the hotel we have been preparing set menus.
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One dish that is requested in most menus is my “Goong Che Nam Pa” or Prawn Carpaccio.
For this certain meal the next course would be “Ping Gai“, obviously served with “Jeow Mhak Len“!
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Whilst the chicken (cooked sous vide) got its finishing touches we started to plate the garnishes. Inside the crispy potato thread rings are fried rice topped with the roasted tomato chutney and semi-dried cherry tomatoes and spinach.
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A few days ago I had to prepare a dish that would be featured in a Spanish TV programme about the hotel. Tired of preparing my Prawn Carpaccio (its been over publicised) I decided to create a “salad” version instead.
This version would use cooked (well, half cooked actually) king prawns instead of my favoured raw ones. The dressing remained the same, and I also added a few other ingredients.
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Prawn Salad.
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Sweet things over the past few weeks included our Mango Passion (Fruit) Crème Brûlée. (Don´t you just love those cute accents over the letters?!).
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We caramelize these twice. Adds to the crunchiness, and everyone loves crunchiness!
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For after dinner coffees I served up some biscuits.
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Green Tea Biscuits.
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I just love the delicate flavour of Matcha Green Tea. The real powder is quite expensive, thankfully its good to know that a little goes a long way!
I don’t know if the next thing qualifies as something sweet or if it falls in to the savoury section.
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Bacon Marshmallows.
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Yep. Bacon!
These were specially made for a special “Degustacion” menu to accompany my Terrine of Foie Gras that would be served in another restaurant at the resort. Of course the marshmallows were toasted before being served! Quite yummy in my opinion!
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Summer has officially ended and Autumn has arrived. And what a busy summer it was!!
The great news is that the charity event that I catered for in London in June managed to raise 5768GBP (that’s 6612Euro or 8880USD!!).
The sell out dinner saw my team and I cook for 100 guests at a riverside restaurant. Other activities that evening included a grand raffle, fashion show and crafts market.
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The starter is served! New Style Goong Che Nam Pa (Prawn Carpaccio).
Meanwhile, down in the basement kitchen…
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I explain to the volunteers how to plate the 63 degree cooked egg for the Lao Salad 2011.
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My brother King adds garnishes to the salad.
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There are plates everywhere!
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The pre-dessert by former Laocook Emile is served in tall shot glasses.
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Refreshing Asian Pears Poached in Syrup, Crushed Ice and Hibiscus Jelly acts as the palate cleanser before the dessert proper.
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Junior continues with Emilie´s Sankhaya Inspired Dessert which featured Pumpkin Cake, Coconut Panna Cotta and Dried fruits.
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After a short break we all got to go upstairs and meet the guests.
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Tennis player and former British Number 1, Anne Keothavong who was competing at The Wimbledon Tennis Championships was also in attendance.
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The team of kitchen volunteers and I share a beer after a long evening.
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Many thanks to everyone who helped and donated to this special event!!
More photos of the event can be seen at the School For Kids in Laos website.
The event was filmed in HD and the documentary is currently in post production.
King also arranged for the event to be filmed by “Press n Play Media”.
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Back in Spain the kitchens remain busy. Even though the restaurants were full every night, I managed to organise another in-house competition for the cooks.
This time the chosen ingredients were Tender Wheat (Trigo Tierno), Spinach and Ham.
It´s always great to watch the cooks prepare dishes for these competitions, to see how they integrate the flavours and textures of the ingredients, their presentation skills and organisation.
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This time I served as one of the lucky judges.
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The runner-up dish was a beautiful plate presented by Kit.
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Tender Wheat Cooked in Coconut Broth, Filled with Spanish Ham and Spinach Puree.
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However, it was Junior´s cold starter of Puree of Tender Wheat with Spanish Ham Crumbs and Souffle Spinach Tempura that won the judges over.
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That makes it TWO in a row for Junior! Well Done!!
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At the beginning of September I was joined in the kitchen by Chef Marta Ramírez from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Marta is the Chef Patron of the Captain Cook Restaurant which is situated in the Marina del Norte. She had contacted me a while ago to ask permission to use one of my recipes (Nhem), in her “Cena Degustación de Laos” (Lao Degustation Dinner).
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Marta gets to grips with our king prawns!
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Marta is a fan of Asiatic cooking and frequently offers her diners a chance to sample some exotic flavours as well as hosting special themed evenings.
It was quite a busy time when she arrived, however she assures me that she enjoyed her hectic two weeks!
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At least she got to see some Degustation Menus of my own as well as some new Amuse Bouche plates.
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Salmon Ceviche on pea Puree served on Toasts.
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Mini Lao Salad 2011 with Honey Roasted Nuts, Garlic Pork and 63 Degree Egg.
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Tapas of Foie Gras and Citrus Marinated Smoked Iberian Pork.
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We are currently midway through our High Season and have just finished catering for Audi´s launch of their new A5/S5 range. We fed more than 400 international journalists with such dishes as my “Goong Che Nam Pa” and “Scallops with Citrus Dressing” as well as a host of other dishes from the other restaurants within the resort.
There´s no time to be tired!
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