crème caramel

crème caramel

• 13 Jan 2014

Do you have a recipe you no longer make but you can't think of a good reason why you ever stopped? Well you can put crème caramel into that category. I had Flan Casero, the Spanish version of crème caramel, while I was in Tasmania and it reminded me just how much I love caramel and custard. Making crème caramel has been on my to-do list ever since. 



To make a good crème caramel you need just a few key ingredients - milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Traditionally I think the custard was made using milk alone but I like a little bit of cream to add some luxury to the dish.



The custard is easy to make so the only thing slightly tricky about this dish is the caramel. Too pale and there isn't much flavour in the caramel, too dark and it will taste burnt.



You'll need to bake the custard gently in a water bath cos you don't want to end up with bubbles in the custard. Some recipes use hot water but I used cold water in mine.

Here's the recipe for you -
Jillian’s Crème Caramel Recipe - serves 4
Custard
250 ml (1 cup) milk
150ml (⅔ cup) cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks, extra
2 - 3 tbl caster sugar
1 vanilla bean

Caramel
½ cup caster sugar
⅔ cup water

Place the milk and cream in a saucepan and add the vanilla pod, split in half lengthways. Bring the mixture to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse with the vanilla for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk mixture.

To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture is dark golden. Pour into 4 x ¾ cup-capacity (180ml) greased ovenproof dishes and rotate to cover the base and sides. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the caramel is set.

Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F). Place the egg, extra yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Gradually add the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking to combine. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a jug then pour into the prepared dishes. Carefully place the custards into a shallow baking tray, before pouring enough water into the tin to come half way up the sides of the dishes. Cover the dish with foil then bake the custards for 35 - 40 minutes or until just set. They will firm up as they cool. Remove the foil and the custards from the dish and allow the custards to cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the crème caramels from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. To unmould the crème caramel, run a palette knife around the edge and gently ease the custard away from the side of the dish with your fingers. I also found dipping the ramekin in hot water for 1 minute to loosen the caramel really helped with the unmoulding process. Carefully turn out on to a plate to serve.



I hope you give this recipe a try because these little crème caramels were delicious.

P.S. if you're looking for more of my recipes, my latest Delicious Bites post is on decor8. You can find the recipe for the apple and cranberry yeast cake here.

Bye for now,

Jillian