Rose sugar and cardamom infused crème brûlée

Roses  (desi gulab*)  remind me of summers in my grandmother's intoxicating garden. As the sun set, the sultry Karachi air shifted to a humid cool sea-breeze bringing with it the scent of her lovingly tended blossoms of motia*, desi gulab, hibiscus, petunia and bougainvillea.As I made my way from the connecting door between my home and hers, her garden beckoned with captivating floral scents, as I strolled through picking a few blossoms it was the wafts of cardamom, milk and rice pudding from her kitchen that would make me find my way to her doorstep.I have a soft spot for Pakistani desserts, their combination of sweet spice and floral essences captivates me, but I am always drawn by the simplicity of crème brûlée in my  western repertoire. In this recipe, I have combined a basic crème brûlée with Pakistani dessert flavour.  A creation from  a sensory memory of my Nani's garden,  her warm kitchen and her comforting kheer (rice pudding) that would entice me away from homework and chores and find me being pampered with her love, flavour and her wonderful cooking.(*translates: 'the roses of the land'; a deep purple red intense rose variety local to Pakistan - motia is Jasminum sambac, an intense small white flower which has many petals unlike a single layer of jasmine, opens as the sun sets) Serves: 6Preparation time: 15 minutes (plus chilling and infusing flavour)Cooking time: 30-40 minutes (plus chilling time) 1 pint double cream1 tsp rose water3 green cardamoms, seeds removed and crushed4 large egg yolks130 grams caster sugar2 tbsp pink edible rose petalsA few rose buds to garnishMethod:1. To make the rose sugar, add all the rose petals with sugar and keep in an air tight jar for about 3-6 days, allowing the fragrance of roses to infuse with the sugar.2. When ready to make the dessert, pour cream into a saucepan on very low heat and add the cardamom. Bring this to a boil and then remove from the heart and allow flavours to infuse and cream to cool. (about 20 min)3. Set 6 ramekins in a roasting tin, add water to the baking tin so that it reaches halfway of the ramekin.4. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with about 1-2 tbsp of the rose sugar and slowly add the infused cream in a thin stream into the beaten egg yolks until all combined. Add the rose water and stir slowly. Pour through a strainer into a jug.5. Pour the mixture into the ramekins equally. Bake in an oven at 150 degrees C for about 30-40 minutes.6. Once cooked, remove from oven and cool and then chill for 3-4 hours or overnight.7. Sprinkle remaining rose sugar over each crème brûlée t form a thin layer of sugar. Either place under hot girl for 2-3 minutes until sugar is caramelised or using a blow torch caramelise the sugar until brown and hard.8. Cool for another hour in the fridge until the top is hard. Decorate with rose buds and serve cold.