Being a Francophile certainly has its perks; you discover foods that you might not have otherwise, your eyes are opened to culture deeply tied to its traditions and epicurean journey, and you develop a very (French) joie de vivre. Now, one cannot be a lover of French culture and not like creme brulee! It's practically a requirement, but grapefruit brulee?? What's that about? I had to test this out.
Not only was I stoked about recreating and playing with one of my favorite desserts, but it involved citrus (another one of my favorites... don't laugh), and is probably a lot healthier (yay for produce!). So it was with excitement that I rolled up my proverbial sleeves, cranked the French oldie "Aux Champs Elysees" (I know, corny!) and had a good ole' time.
Let's get to the good stuff, shall we?
Look at that. What a beauty. Take this delicious fruit and cut it in half; turn on your broiler and place a rack as close to the top of the oven.
It should look like this... unless something goes really wrong... Remember to remove any seeds from the open slices.
This next step is kinda, really important. With a serrated knife cut the fruit away from the rind, and segment it so that each piece is loosened. (See above photo).
Now for the goodies. Take one tablespoon of butter and place a half on each slice. Fill up a spoonful of brown sugar and shake it over the fruit. Do the same with the cinnamon and you're ready to put it in the oven!
Leave the grapefruit in the broiler for no more than 5 minutes. I have a smaller oven so mine only needed to be in around 3 minutes. You'll hear the butter sizzling; just keep your eye on it and remove it when it looks bubbly.
This is what it should resemble. I'm telling you, when you're eating this, it's going to be the best five minutes of your life. The heat warms the fruit, making it tangy and juicy. When combined with the carmelized sugar, butter, and cinnamon, it becomes gooey and sweet. It's literally perfect! Enjoy!
Recipe in Traditional Format
1 large grapefruit, cut in half and segmented
1 tablespoon of butter, cut in half
A spoonful of sugar and cinnamon (I almost wanted to start singing like Marry Poppins...)
Cut fruit in half, segment it, and remove any seeds. Place one half of butter on each slice, shake the cinnamon and sugar over the halves, adding more if you so desire. When the broiler is ready, place halves in an oven safe dish and place in oven as close to the broiler as possible. Leave for 3-5 minutes and remove when bubbly and carmelized. Sit down to eat this recipe... it's worth it!
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