Recipe: Burnt Lemon Cream with Blackberries

Derived from a recipe by Bruno Loubet, this comes with an unassailable guarantee of quality! The original, I think, used blackcurrants (and in fact, outside blackberry season, you can substitute raspberries to equally good effect) - and this was also a rare occasion when Loubet wasn't thinking properly, and his version went to the unnecessary and laborious lengths of making italian meringue to mix in towards the end of the recipe, when in fact all you need is some beaten egg white. On one level, I suppose it's reassuring to know that he didn't always get it right.

Beautifully light, this still manages to be rich and delicious, and is perfect after any rather substantial main course.

For two:

Ingredients: 150g Blackberries; 3 tablespoons of Sugar; 100 ml Milk; 2 Eggs, separated; 2 tablespoons of Cornflour; juice and grated zest of 1 Lemon; half a tablespoon of powdered Gelatine; Icing Sugar.

Method:

1. Put the Blackberries and half of the Sugar in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they have entirely collapsed into a jam (about seven or eight minutes). Set aside to cool.

2. Whisk the Egg yolks with the remaining Sugar, then stir in the Cornflour. Heat the Milk to simmering point in a double boiler or simmertopf, and then stir this into the egg-sugar-flour mixture. Add the Lemon juice, stir well, then return the mixture to the double boiler or zimmertopf and cook, stirring, for five minutes or so until the mixture has visibly thickened.

3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then heat approx 50 ml of water in the zimmertopf and add to this the powdered Gelatine. Stir over a gentle heat until the Gelatine has entirely dissolved, then add, stirring thoroughly, to the Lemon custard. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

4. Beat the Egg whites until stiff, then fold into the Lemon custard, along with the grated Lemon zest.

5. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

6. In two greased (or Trennwaxed) egg dishes, divide half of the lemon mixture, and then add a layer of stewed Blackberry (half of the Blackberry mixture for each dish) and then cover the Blackberry layer with the remaining lemon mixture. Lightly dust the top of each dish with Icing Sugar.

7. Put the dishes into the pre-heated oven for about eight minutes - just enough to heat them through - and finally, brown the tops either briefly under a hot grill or else by using a small blowtorch.