Creme Caramels

These are an all time favourite of mine and many others, and, for very good reason I think. They are a classic French dessert and really - who does indulgence better than the French? I think I have mentioned before that custard is one of my favourite things. I just love it and my previous recipe for Portugese Custard Tarts is an example of me in custard heaven!

But let’s talk creme caramels. As a young princess I remember the excitement of going to a favourite family restaurant with my parents and knowing that there were creme caramels on the menu. The restaurant had a kind of water fall or water feature as you walked into the foyer with coloured lights behind it. I just thought it was so special and fancy. I still remember it so clearly. I think for me, food has always been linked to so many of my favourite memories. It likely explains why I love what I do so much today.

So a creme caramel is essentially a custard. You make a simple custard base which is mainly just eggs and milk (or cream sometimes) and sweeten it up with some sugar and then there is room to add (or infuse) flavours if you like. Think vanilla, cinnamon, citrus, aniseed, nutmeg etc. Anything goes really. And then there is the layer of dark and sweet but slightly bitter (if you get it right!) caramel that oozes out and over when you either dig your spoon in or turn them out onto the plate.

Now, the joy here, is in the simplification of the cooking method and technique. Usually (pre CSO) you would have needed to use a water bath (or a bain marie in French) to cook these. A tray or pan would have been filled with water and the ramekins would be place into the water in the tray which helps to “diffuse” the heat from the oven, making it a little more soft and gentle. The reason this is needed is that if your custard gets too much heat it will curdle and you will end up with scrambly, eggy texture and flavour rather than the silky, smooth option we are going for. So, with your CombiSteam you can forget the who water bath thing. It’s literally just a matter of using your Steam setting instead of any hot oven setting, and use a low temperature (I go with 80°C but you can go up to 90°C). They come out perfectly shiny and smooth and will melt in your mouth. Pop them in the fridge for at least 6 hours and you’re ready to enjoy. These are also a super make ahead dessert for entertaining. (Not that any of us are doing much of that at the moment!)

Once you have made these once or twice you will feel like you are a French Chef. The trickiest part is probably the caramel and getting that right. I would just say to keep watching. Don’t take your eyes off it. Inevitably as soon as you do it will burn. Making caramel is a little bit like “nothing, “nothing, nothing, nothing, something, burnt” so as soon as you feel like you are starting to get “something”, give the pan a swirl and once it smells gorgeous take it straight off the heat, keep swirling for a minute and then pour it in to your ramekins.

Here we go!

Makes 8 caramels

Ingredients:
500ml milk
50g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean (split lengthways and seeds scraped out) or sub 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
3 XL eggs

Caramel: 60g caster sugar, 1 tbs water

Method:

1. Place ceramic ramekins or dairole moulds onto a perforated Steamer tray.

2. Meanwhile place caramel ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved then stop stirring completely. Allow to melt around the edges then gently swirl (do not stir) over the heat until it starts to turn golden brown. Once golden and smelling like caramel remove from the heat immediately. Swirl a few times to cool slightly.

3. Pour caramel directly and carefully into the ramekins, dividing evenly between them.

4. Whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined. Gradually pour in the milk whisking gently as you go until all added and combined. Don’t whisk too hard or fast - you don’t want to aerate the mixture as it will create bubbles in the custard - keep it smooth and creamy.

5. Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a pouring jug to remove any stringy bits from the egg.

6. Pour custard into the ramekins on top of the caramel.

7. Place tray into the Combi-Steam. Select Steam. Set the temperature to 80°C.

8. Cook for 45 minutes or until just set, then remove and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

9. Serve in the ramekins or insert a butter knife carefully down one side of the ramekin and slowly move it around to loosen the custard away from the edges. Place a serving plate on top of the ramekin and invert. Gently jiggle the ramekin to help it come out of the mould.

Notes:

These are lovely with some fruit (in Autumn/Winter I like some segments of citrus or berries in the summer).
For real indulgence add a little whipped or double cream.

If you want to get a sense of the difference in cooking at 80°C to 90°C, try a few on each setting - for 90°C cook for 35 minutes. It’s interesting to see how the protein “sets” with a more silky texture when you take the temperature down a little bit.

Enjoy these my loyal ones! I know I will! The degree of difficultly with the caramel is not too high but might take a bit of practice. Just have some extra sugar on hand in case you need a re-do! And, the best way to clean the saucepan afterwards is to fill it with hot water and put it back on the heat on the cooktop until it loosens off.

Thanks for dropping into the palace.

Happy cooking!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x