Qumështore with Persimmon

4h 40m

Warm delectable milk custard bruléed with luscious egg yolks and finished with seasonal persimmon!

This Dish is a modern take on a Traditional Albanian Dessert called Qumështore. Qumështore is a milk custard set and then finished with egg yolks and butter and then broiled to get that caramelized effect. Qumështore is Albania's version of "Creme Brulee" or "Flan".

The first time I tried the original version was in Elbasan during a research trip and for me it is an instant classic.

Add 1 cup of butter to a pot and cook on low heat until frothy
Cook 20m until butter foam becomes grey with specks of brown, stirring often to avoid burning
Remove from heat and cool down 10m
Strain slowly through fine mesh strainer into pot. Discard solids. The Nutty Brown Butter is ready
Combine 50 g of cornstarch with 4½ tbsp of water to create a slurry. Reserve
Add 500 g of whole milk to a pot on medium heat
Add 200 g of honey
Add a pinch of salt and stir constantly until milk starts to steam
Add the slurry and combine
Cook for 10m, constantly stirring, until it thickens
Transfer milk custard base to a casserole
Chill in the refrigerator for 3h to set the custard
Separate the yolks from 4 eggs
Add 50 g of the Nutty Brown Butter to the yolks
Add 50 g of honey and whisk thoroughly to combine
Add a pinch of salt and combine. Reserve
Set oven to broil at 200 ºC
Trim, peel and small dice 1 persimmon
Pull milk custard from the fridge. Ensure it can pull from the sides
Cover with sweet egg yolk sauce
Broil in oven until evenly caramelized
Top with the diced persimmon
Finish with 1½ tbsp of Nutty Brown Butter. Qumështore with Persimmon is ready
Enjoy it warm!