Earl Grey Crème Brûlée and Mochi, Cakes and Bakes

Mochi, Cakes and Bakes: Simple Yet Exquisite Desserts with Ube, Yuzu, Matcha and More, written by Catherine Zhang, features an incredible collection of 60 cakes, cookies, tarts, and other treats with a fusion of vibrant flavors. A few highlights include Mochi Donuts, Thai Tea Mille Crêpe, Baked Matcha Chocolate Terrine, Black Sesame Praline Macarons, and Brown Sugar Boba Popsicles. I will also be sharing her recipe for Earl Grey Crème Brûlée following the review.

Disclosure: I received this book from Page Street Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and statements are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Catherine Zhang

Catherine Zhang is a pastry chef and recipe developer. She features sweets inspired by her Chinese and Australian upbringing on her blog, Catherine Zhang, and was the winner of the second season of Netflix’s baking competition, Zumbo’s Just Desserts.

She lives in Sydney, Australia and this is her first cookbook.

Mochi, Cakes and Bakes

Catherine begins Mochi, Cakes and Bakes with a short introduction and a few essentials to help get started.

The basic recipes in the first chapter are perfect for creating a strong foundation for the desserts within the book and even to develop your own creations.

Chapters are divided according to type of dessert: The Essentials; All Things Mochi; Light, Fluffy Cakes; Cheesy Cakes and Other Bakes; The Cookie Collection; Buttery Tarts and Pastries; Cloud-Like Breads; and Creamy Treats. The contents have a list of the included recipes with page number for easy reference.

Catherine also provides the beautiful photography. Every single treat is paired with a vibrant, full-page photo of the finished dish. The essentials chapter has step-by-step photos to help demonstrate a variety of techniques.

Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, yield, and ingredient tips.

Earl Grey Crème Brûlée

To pair with the review, I made Catherine’s Earl Grey Crème Brûlée! I love different variations of Creme Brulee (see my Matcha Crème Brûlée and Pumpkin Crème Brûlée) and this one is definitely now a favorite.

Heated cream and milk is infused with Earl Grey tea bags for at least 2 hours or up to overnight (I went with overnight).

After removing the tea bags, the infused cream is heated until steaming, then very slowly poured into a beaten egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking until combined.

The mixture is strained and divided among ramekins, then cooked in a water bath until barely set.

Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 6 hours or up to three days, then sprinkle the tops evenly with about a tablespoon of superfine sugar and heat with the torch until the sugar caramelizes.

The result is a crisp, caramelized layer over the creamy Earl Grey tea-infused custard.

A Few Crème Brûlée Tips

While beating the eggs, add the warm cream in a very thin and light stream to keep the eggs from scrambling. If a few pieces do scramble, they will get caught by the fine mesh strainer before dividing among ramekins.

Carefully pour the water into the baking dish around the ramekins and transfer to the oven. You don’t want any water splashing into the custard and no custard falling into the water.

Bake the custards just until set around the edges, but still a little wobbly in the center. They will set further as they cool. Deeper ramekins will take longer than the wider, more shallow ramekins.

Make sure the custard is completely chilled before caramelizing the top and serving. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to three days.

Don’t cover the top with sugar and torch until immediately before serving. It will soften with time and lose that iconic crisp texture.

Other Desserts

I also made the Tiramisu Mochi, Miso Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Ube Crinkles, and Mochi-Dogs.

I was immediately drawn to the Tiramisu Mochi. This is such a fun way to use glutinous rice flour. The rice flour is mixed with brewed coffee to create the coffee-flavored chewy exterior, then filled with a light mascarpone cream and coffee jam center.

The kids went straight for the cookie chapter, starting with these Miso Chocolate Chunk Cookies. The flavors were so good! White miso paste is combined with browned butter, then mixed into the dough. After chilling until firm, they are formed into rounds and baked until golden.

The Ube Crinkles were another favorite. Ube halaya and ube extract are blended into the dough before rolling each ball in sugar. The crisp, crinkled exterior gives way to an incredible fudgy texture.

We finished with the Mochi-Dogs for something a little more savory with a hint of sweetness. The yeast-based dough has a blend of bread flour and glutinous rice flour for a light, slightly chewy texture filled with hot dogs and stretchy mozzarella. To finish, these Korean-style corn dogs are covered in sugar, ketchup, and honey mustard.

Mochi, Cakes and Bakes is a fantastic pick for those interested in a variety of desserts with a fun and exciting fusion of flavors. Recipes range from quick and easy cookies to more intricate cakes and tarts.

Many of the ingredients are becoming more readily available in larger American supermarkets. A few items that may require further searching include adzuki beans, salted duck egg yolks, Thai tea mix, ube halaya, ube extract, panda leaves, hojicha powder, yuzu juice, and black sesame seeds.

Earl Grey Crème Brûlée Recipe

Excerpt from Mochi, Cakes and Bakes

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5 from 2 votes

Earl Grey Crème Brûlée

A recipe for Earl Grey Crème Brûlée from the cookbook, Mochi, Cakes and Bakes! This classic custard is infused with Earl Grey tea and topped with a layer of caramelized sugar.

Course Dessert

Cuisine N/A

Keyword creme brulee, custard, dessert, earl grey, tea

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time 9 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 Earl Grey tea bags
• 1 1/4 cups (300 milliliters) heavy cream
• 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) whole milk
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons (80 grams) superfine sugar for torching

Instructions

• To infuse the cream, place the tea bags, cream and milk in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cover and allow the tea to infuse at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or in the fridge overnight for a deeper flavor.
• To prepare the crème brûlée, preheat the oven to 320˚F (160˚C) and place six medium ramekins in a baking pan.
• Remove the tea bags from the cream, pour the infused cream into a small saucepan, and heat over medium heat for 4 minutes, or until steaming.
• Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, and whisk to combine. Slowly pour the steaming milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously until well combined.
• Pour the custard mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into another bowl, or a jug for easy pouring. Then divide the custard between the prepared ramekins.
• Fill the baking tray with 0.8 inches (20 millimeters) of boiling water and bake for 30 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The sides should be set, while the center remains jiggly.
• Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Cover each ramekin with cling wrap and chill for a minimum of 6 hours.
• To serve, remove the ramekins from the fridge and sprinkle over 1 tablespoon (13 grams) of superfine sugar on each ramekin.
• With a blowtorch, if using, torch the sugar until golden brown and caramelized. I you don't have a blowtorch, place the ramekins sprinkled with sugar on a tray directly under a broiler preheated at high. Keep an eye on them and remove them as soon as they are caramelized. Serve immediately.
• Store these before caramelizing, covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove and caramelize before serving.