Recipe Courtesy of:
Chef Kyle Kingrey
Restaurant: Villa Madeleine
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Modified by Tim Haggard

Slices of baked cream are stacked between crisp phyllo with strawberries and then topped with brown sugar that is melted over the strawberries. Melting the top of any brûlée is tricky: if you
make crème brûlée often invest in a small cooking torch.  Otherwise, use the highest setting on your broiler and place the dessert as close to the heat as possible for as short a time as possible.

Ingredients

Baked Cream
4 cups (1 quart) heavy cream
2 vanilla beans, split
2 whole eggs + 4 egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar

Phyllo Crisps
8 sheets of phyllo
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
sugar for dusting

3 pints strawberries, hulled and halved
1 cup brown sugar
6 mint sprigs
2 cups Strawberry Coulis

Coulis  (makes about 2 cups)

4 cups fresh berries, or 2 cups diced fresh fruit
2 tablespoons sugar or more to taste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
 
 

Procedure

To make the cream:

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Put the cream in a deep heavy pan over medium-high heat. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pods into the cream, then drop the pods into the cream. Bring the cream just to the boiling point and remove from heat. Set aside.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together to blend. Pour the cream into the eggs (slowly) through a strainer, the immediately whisk the egg mixture to blend and cool it. Pour into a rectagular cake pan so that the cream mixture is about 1/2-inch thick. Place a larger (at least one inch in each direction) rectangular pan in the oven. Set the pan with the cream mixture into the larger pan.  Fill the larger pan with hot water to the level of the cream mixture. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until center starts to firm up. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To make the crisps:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Spread a sheet of phyllo dough on a flat work surface and top with another sheet of phyllo. Spread with melted butter and sprinkle with a coating of sugar. Top with two more sheets of phyllo and gently press them together. Brush the top sheet with more butter and sugar. Cut into squares (16 to 20). With a wide spatula, lift the phyllo squares and place them in the prepared pan. Dust liberally with more sugar. Bake 4 to 5 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

Repeat for plenty of crisps.

To make the Coulis (Uncooked Fruit Purée):

Purée the berries or fruit in a blender or food processor. Strain the purée through a fine-meshed sieve. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Adjust the amount of sugar if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until needed. This purée may be used as an ingredient in another recipe, or by itself as a sauce.
 
 

To serve:

Preheat the broiler to highest setting, or use a small kitchen torch. Place the brûlée squares on a baking sheet. Place four strawberry halves on top of each square. Top each with a tablespoon of brown sugar. Melt the sugar with a torch, or place as close as possible to the broiler and melt the sugar, removing immediately. Place the strawberry coulis in a squeeze bottle and draw a rough square on each dessert plate using two lines for each side. Place a piece of phyllo crisp in the center of each. Put a brûlée square on top of each phyllo crisp. Top with a second
layer of phyllo crisps and brûlée squares.

Garnish the dishes with more strawberries and a mint leaf.

Yield: 6 to 12 servings (depending on wether served with 1 or 2 layers of brûlée squares).

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