Crème Caramel
Crème Caramel is a delightful and universally loved dessert, guaranteed to bring smiles to your dinner party guests. One of their greatest appeals is that all the preparation is done the day before, making them a stress-free yet elegant finale to your meal.
To start, sugar is caramelized to a medium amber and poured into small ramekins. A simple vanilla custard is then added, and the ramekins are gently baked in a water bath to ensure a smooth, creamy consistency. After setting overnight in the refrigerator, the magic happens at dessert time—each ramekin is turned upside down onto a plate, revealing a luscious caramel topping and sauce that perfectly complements the delicate custard
The two challenging aspects of making Crème Caramel are caramelizing the sugar and determining the perfect doneness—recognizing the delicate jiggle of a properly set custard. Both are fundamental pastry skills that are well worth mastering through experience, as they apply to many classic desserts.
This recipe, like many other timeless cakes and desserts found in well-known cookbooks, originates from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and her two French colleagues.
Crème Caramel
| Yield: 7 individual crème caramels | # of Servings: 7 |
Ingredients:
For the molds
⅔ cup (4.7 oz / 133 g) granulated sugar
3 tbl water
¼ tsp cream of tartar
Custard:
1 ¼ cup (10 fl oz) heavy cream
1 ¼ cup (10 fl oz) milk
2 tbl (.9 oz / 25 g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¼ cup + 2 tbl sugar (2.7 oz / 77 g) sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
Accompaniments (optional):
Fresh raspberries or strawberry slices
Special tools and equipment needed:
- Seven 6 oz soufflé dishes
- Baking or roasting pan, large enough to hold the soufflé dishes with 1-inch on all sides1.
- Small pastry brush
Pre-recipe preparations:
- Fill water kettle and heat water just to the boil
- Fill medium-sized mixing bowl half-full with cold water
- Preheat oven to 325°F
Directions:
Caramelizing the molds:
- Place sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan and stir just to combine.
- On medium flame, bring the sugar to the boil, using the pastry brush dipped in cold water to wash down any sugar crystals clinging to the side of the pan. Stop stirring once the sugar comes to the boil.
- Cook the syrup until it reaches a medium amber colored caramel.
- Remove from the heat and dip the pan in the cold water for 5 seconds to stop the cooking.
- Pour caramel into the bottom of the soufflé dishes and swirl around to coat the entire bottom. Set aside.
Preparing and baking the custard:
- Whisk together the heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla bean and scraped seeds in a small saucepan and bring just to the simmer. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Place eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in medium mixing bowl, and whisk together, just enough thoroughly blend all ingredients.
- Remove the vanilla bean from the hot cream mixture. Slowly whisk the cream into the egg mixture.
- Stain through a fine mesh strainer into the caramelized soufflé dish. Place the dish in the baking or roasting pan and surround with enough hot water so it is halfway up the soufflé dish.
- Carefully place in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the custard is set. A sharp paring knife inserted into the center of the custard should come out clean,
- Remove the custard from the water bath and set on a rack to cool off to room temperature. Place in refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight to chill.
Unmolding the Crème Caramel:
- Run a sharp paring knife between the outside of the custard and the soufflé dish.
- Set the bottom of the soufflé dish into a small bowl of hot water for 10 seconds.
- Cover the soufflé dish with dessert plate and invert so the Crème Caramel releases into the platter. Remove the soufflé dish.
- Optional: serve with fresh berries
Baking notes:
1 I use a 16” by 11” by 2” roasting pan.
