Café Brulée

I'm a big fan of mystery novels, especially those set in exotic locations, like Colin Cotterill's Dr Siri series (set in Laos), and Shamini Flint's Inspector Singh books (set in various South East Asian countries). I've also discovered lately that there's a whole sub-genre of mystery novels with 'foodie' themes! Mary Daheim has written a bunch of stories based in and around a Seattle bed and breakfast, while Laura Childs' books are set in a Charleston tea shop, and Cleo Coyle's mystery stories involve a New York coffee house.

It was while reading one of the latter books (the author kindly includes recipes and coffee tips) that I realised it was high time I experimented with coffee as an ingredient, rather than just a drink. Soooo ... café brulée. I followed my usual crème brulée recipe, but left out the vanilla bean, reduced the sugar (in the custard) to 2 teaspoons, and also added 3 teaspoons of instant coffee granules while the cream was heating. It worked well. Next time, I may have to experiment with chai brulée ...