Creme Caramel

This is what I had for dessert last night. Pretty gorgeous huh!

Creme Caramel in all its glory!

Some minor imperfections, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

It looks like I spent hours on it, but this took about 15 minutes of prep time only, and 45 minutes in the oven.

Its really easy and only requires a few ingredients, which I'm sure all of you will find in your kitchen.

I've used ramekins here. If you dont have ramekins, fret not. You can double or triple the recipe and make it in a cake tin, casserole dish or whatever floats your boat. Just make sure that its oven proof, and you have something bigger to put it in. (see post below)

  

This recipe makes 2 servings. 

Prep time: 12-15 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

Time in the Fridge: 2-3 hours

You'll need:

(For the Caramel)

1/4 cup of Sugar

2 tbsp of Water

(For the Custard)

1 cup of Full fat Milk

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence

3 tbsp Sugar

1 whole Egg

1 Egg yolk 

Preheat oven at 160 degree centigrade.

(For Caramel)

Heat sugar in a pot till light golden

Try not to stir with spoon as the sugar will crystallize. Use the spoon when the sugar is melted.

When light brown quickly add water and stir. (Measure water beforehand)

Be careful not to burn the sugar, once it reaches light brown color it will quickly turn dark brown and bitter.

Remove from heat and quickly pour into ramekins (or any dish you're using)

Careful not to burn yourself, as the sugar is REALLY REALLY HOT at this time.

Keep aside.

Meanwhile make the custard.

Gently heat Milk, vanilla essence and 2 tbsp of the sugar till hot but not boiling.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk Egg, Egg yolk and the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar.

Now add the hot milk to the eggs in a thin stream while whisking continuously so that the eggs dont get cooked.

Pass the mixture through a sieve. This will insure that your creme caramels are silky smooth, so dont skip this step.

Now add this to the ramekins.  

Place the ramekins in a dish (I used a casserole dish) and fill the dish with water.

the water should be 3-4 cm high. 

This is called a Bain marie. The water will let the custard cook gently and not burn.

Cover the whole thing with aluminium and bake for 45 minutes.

Take out and leave to cool for about 30 minutes.

Now comes the hard part:

Cling wrap the ramekins, and keep in the fridge to chill for about 2-3 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, gently run your knife on the edge of the custard (be careful not to break th custard, its so delicate. As you can see mine did break a little from the sides as i was taking it out). Place a platter on top, and flip. Remove the ramekin, and enjoy your master piece!

Leave a comment to tell me how it turns out!!

Enjoy!