Make Crème Caramel

Crème caramel is an elegant desert of custard topped with caramel sauce; the custard is baked in a mold (ramekin) lined with caramel, refrigerated for a period, and then inverted onto a plate for serving so that the caramel becomes the topping/sauce. Crème caramel is similar to flan.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of full fat milk
  • 1 cup of white sugar, and another 1/2 cup for the caramel sauce
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 whole eggs (or egg substitute)
  • A pinch of salt

Steps

Prepare the Custard

  1. Preheat the oven to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  2. Heat the heavy cream and milk in a saucepan on medium heat until you see small bubbles on the sides of the pan.
  3. Whisk 1/2 a cup of the sugar, egg yolks and eggs together in a medium bowl.
  4. Whisk the hot cream and milk into the sugar and egg mixture.
  5. Gradually add the hot milk and cream to the egg and sugar mixture. Stir in the salt and vanilla extract.
    • Alternate method: Pass the mixture through a sieve and into a measuring cup, then stir in the salt and vanilla extract.

Prepare the Caramel

  1. Place 6-oz ramekins in a deep baking dish and keep to one side.
  2. Pour 1/2 cup sugar into a clean saucepan.
  3. Add enough water to dissolve the sugar, and put the pot over high heat. Stir for one minute.
  4. Mix the caramel around to ensure it caramelizes evenly. As the water evaporates, the water will boil more furiously, and that's when it begins to caramelize.
  5. Pour the caramel into the ramekins you prepared earlier; do this when you see the caramel has turned dark brown.
  6. Divide the mixture so that the bottom of each ramekin is covered with an even thin coat of the caramel.

Make the Crème Caramel

  1. Pour the custard into the caramel-bottomed ramekins, and fill the baking dish with water so that the bottom halves of the ramekins are under water.
    • You may cover the dish with foil for only 15-20 minutes and then remove the foil. Leaving it on longer may cause the cream in the ramekins to get watery rather than the correct texture of a nice pudding.
  2. Bake until the custard is set, which should take around 20 to 45 minutes.
  3. Let the custards cool down in the water bath. After they've cooled down, remove the ramekins from the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.
  4. After the custard has been refrigerated, run a knife around the edge of each ramekin and invert the custard onto a nice plate, making sure you get all of the caramel out.
  5. Served.



Tips

  • Replacing the whole eggs (3) with egg substitute is a good idea, especially if you suffer from high cholesterol.
  • You might try sprinkling coffee powder or coconut on the finished product, to give the desert an edge.
  • The time it takes for the custard to set depends on how thick/deep your ramekins and baking dish are.
  • For an "adults only" version, you can spike the caramel with some liquor, before you pour it into the ramekins.
  • Crème Caramel is delicious on it's own, but Make a Fresh Berry Tart make an excellent accompaniment.

Warnings

  • When the sugar has begun to caramelize, watch it carefully. Caramel burns quickly, and burnt caramel never tastes good.
  • Crème Caramel is a guilty pleasure; do not take much if you've medical problems (diabetes, high blood pressure), or if you're dieting.
  • Crème Caramel is not something you can cook with young kids. It is very dangerous to leave children around boiling water/caramel, and accidents are bound to happen.
  • Caramel, at the saucepan stage, is very, very hot; be extremely careful around it.

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Sources and Citations

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