Crème caramel

Crème caramel is a classic French dessert made with smooth vanilla custard and a layer of clear caramel. Baking it gently in a bain-marie gives the dessert its delicate, silky texture. Serve well chilled as a simple yet refined dessert; allow for a chilling time of at least 4 hours.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• For the caramel
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• For the custard
• 500 ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 80 g caster sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven
   Preheat the oven to 150 °C.
2. Prepare the ramekins
   Set out 4 ramekins or ovenproof dishes.
3. Prepare the water bath
   Bring water to the boil for the water bath.
4. Prepare the vanilla
   Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

Method

1. Make the caramel
   Put the sugar and water for the caramel into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat without stirring until a golden brown caramel forms. If needed, gently swirl the pan so the colour develops evenly.
2. Divide the caramel
   Immediately divide the caramel among the bottoms of the ramekins and leave it to harden briefly.
3. Heat the milk
   Put the milk, vanilla seeds and vanilla pod into a saucepan. Bring gently almost to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
4. Mix the egg mixture
   Gently whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Do not whisk too much air into it.
5. Make the custard
   Remove the vanilla pod from the milk. Pour the warm milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream, stirring continuously, and stir gently until a smooth custard forms.
6. Strain and divide the custard
   Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug or bowl, then divide it among the ramekins.
7. Fill the water bath
   Place the ramekins in a deep baking dish and pour hot water into the dish until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
8. Bake the crème caramels
   Bake the crème caramels for about 35 to 40 minutes until just set. The custard should be set but still slightly wobbly in the centre.
9. Cool and chill
   Remove the ramekins from the water bath and leave them to cool. Then chill them in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
10. Turn out of the moulds
    Before serving, run a small knife around the edge of the ramekins and turn them out onto plates so the caramel can run over the top.
11. Follow the preparation tips
    Do not stir the caramel with a spoon while it is cooking, otherwise it may crystallise. The custard must not boil or bake too hard, otherwise the texture will become coarse or holes may form. Crème caramel should be soft, smooth and delicately flavoured.