Pistachio Crème Brûlée with Raspberry Sorbet

⏱ 150 min · Serves 6

A glassy caramel lid cracks to reveal silky green-flecked pistachio custard, cooled by a scoop of sharp raspberry sorbet. It's the dessert that quietly steals the whole dinner party — and most of it is made the day before.

Per serving: 692 kcal · 9.5g protein · 66.0g carbs · 44.0g fat

Ingredients

• For the raspberry sorbet:
• 500g raspberries (fresh or frozen, thawed)
• 150g caster sugar
• 120ml water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vodka or kirsch (optional, keeps it scoopable)
• For the pistachio crème brûlée:
• 100g shelled unsalted pistachios, plus 1 tbsp chopped to serve
• 450ml double cream
• 150ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 6 large egg yolks
• 80g caster sugar
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp pistachio paste (optional, for deeper colour and flavour)
• 6 tbsp demerara or caster sugar, for the tops

Method

1. Make the sorbet first: heat the sugar and water in a small pan until the sugar dissolves, then cool. Blitz the raspberries with the syrup and lemon juice until smooth, then push through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Stir in the vodka if using.
2. Churn in an ice cream machine until thick, then freeze for at least 3 hours. No machine? Freeze in a shallow tray, forking through every 30 minutes for 3 hours until fluffy.
3. Heat the oven to 140C/120C fan. Blitz the 100g pistachios to a coarse meal. Put the cream, milk, pistachio meal and vanilla in a saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Take off the heat, cover and infuse 30 minutes.
4. Whisk the yolks, 80g sugar and salt until pale. Strain the warm cream through a fine sieve, pressing hard on the nuts, then whisk it slowly into the yolks along with the pistachio paste if using. Skim off any foam.
5. Divide between 6 shallow ramekins set in a deep roasting tin. Pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides. Bake 30-40 minutes, until set with a slight wobble in the centre.
6. Lift out, cool to room temperature, then chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
7. To serve, blot the tops dry, scatter each with 1 tbsp sugar and caramelise with a blowtorch (or under a fiercely hot grill) until deep amber. Rest 2 minutes to harden.
8. Scoop the sorbet into chilled small bowls or shot glasses alongside, scatter the brulees with chopped pistachios, and serve at once so the sugar is still crisp.