Creme Caramel Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly spray 4 heatproof 6.5-oz. ramekins with vegetable spray. Place ramekins in a casserole dish.
• Place 1/2 cup sugar in a small, heavy, dry skillet over medium heat. When sugar begins to melt around the edges, gently shake the pan continually, swirling sugar around, until all the sugar melts; don't use utensils to stir. When sugar is completely melted and dark brown, remove the pan from heat.
• Quickly pour equal amounts of caramel syrup into the 4 prepared ramekins.
• Place 1 egg and 3 egg yolks in a bowl with a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture becomes frothy, about 1 minute.
• Spoon the creme fraiche into the egg mixture; add the milk, vanilla, and Grand Marnier. Whisk together until ingredients are completely mixed.
• Ladle mixture into the prepared ramekins, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
• Fill casserole with hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place casserole on middle rack of preheated oven.
• Bake until just barely set, 45 to 50 minutes. You can start checking for doneness at about 40 minutes.
• Using tongs, remove the ramekins from the casserole to a cooling rack. When just slightly warm, run a sharp paring knife around the edge of each custard.
• To unmold, cover ramekin with a small plate, then invert. Chill before serving.

CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place eight 4-ounce ramekins in a large roasting pan. Add 4 tablespoons water to a small pot. Add 1 cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Cook over medium-high, swirling occasionally, until caramel begins to turn amber, 6 to 8 minutes. Working quickly, divide caramel between ramekins, swirling ramekins to coat bottoms evenly, set aside.
• In a medium pot, heat milk over medium until hot, but not boiling. In a medium bowl whisk together whole eggs and yolks, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. While whisking, ladle some milk into the egg mixture. Whisk in remaining milk, one ladle at a time. Strain through a fine sieve into a large liquid measuring cup, and stir in vanilla. Divide custard evenly among ramekins.
• Transfer roasting pan to oven. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, about 35 minutes.
• With tongs, remove ramekins from hot water and let cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours (or up to 3 days). To unmold, run a sharp knife around inside of each ramekins and invert onto a serving plate, gently shaking to release.

CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Make the caramel: Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Divide sugar evenly between two 4-cup charlotte molds; add 2 tablespoons water to each and swirl to combine (do not stir). Place molds over low heat; cover, and cook until sugar has dissolved.
• Uncover molds and increase heat to high; cook, swirling, until sugar mixture begins to caramelize. Remove from heat and immediately plunge molds into ice-water baths to stop cooking, about 30 seconds. Swirl caramel to evenly cover bottom of molds; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Make the custard: Place cream, milk, and vanilla bean and seeds or extract in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk sugar with eggs and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Remove vanilla bean from milk mixture; whisking constantly, gradually add milk mixture to egg mixture. Strain and divide custard evenly between both charlotte molds.
• Place charlotte molds in a roasting pan. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the molds. Transfer pan to oven and bake until custard is firm, about 45 minutes. Remove custards from pan and let cool; transfer to refrigerator until chilled.
• To unmold, run a sharp knife or offset spatula around the edge of the custard; dip mold into hot water to help remove if necessary. Quickly invert onto serving dish. Pour any remaining caramel around the custard; serve.

CRèME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Put the sugar in a small frying pan, preferably non-stick, and add the water. Heat slowly, stirring gently with a metal tablespoon until the sugar has dissolved. The base of the pan will no longer feel gritty when you run the spoon over it. (Step 1)
• Increase the heat under the pan and allow the syrup to bubble. As the water is driven off, the syrup will become thicker and the bubbles on the surface will get bigger. Do not stir the syrup during this time. (Step 2)
• Watch the syrup carefully and when it starts to turn golden at the edges, swirl the pan to ensure even colouring. Do not stir it. When the syrup has turned a rich golden caramel colour, remove from heat. (Step 3)
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Pour the caramel into ramekins. Bring the milk to simmering point.
• Put the eggs and yolks in a bowl with the sugar and whisk lightly together.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Strain into a clean jug and add the vanilla, and liqueur, if using. Pour carefully into the prepared ramekins.
• Pour boiling water from the kettle into a roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 15-20 mins until the custards are just set. Leave to cool, then chill for at least 4 hrs, or even overnight. The caramels can be made up to 3 days in advance.
• To turn out each caramel, run the point of a sharp knife around the top edge of each ramekin, place a dessert plate on top and invert. Give the ramekin and plate a sharp shake and carefully remove the ramekin.

CLASSIC CRèME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven 150C/300F/Gas 2. Warm the ramekins in the oven, so they are warm when the caramel is poured in.
• First make the caramel. Pour the sugar and six tablespoons of water into a clean stainless steel pan.
• Dissolve the sugar slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon over a low heat.
• When there are no sugar granules left, stop stirring and boil until the sugar turns a dark copper colour.
• Remove immediately from the heat to ensure the caramel does not burn. Quickly pour the caramel into the warmed ramekins.
• Set aside to cool and become hard. (Do not put in the fridge because the sugar will absorb moisture and go soft and tacky).
• Once hard, butter the sides of the ramekins above the level of the caramel.
• For the custard, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and caster sugar together in a bowl until well mixed.
• Pour the milk into a saucepan, gently heat over a low heat until you can still just dip your finger in for a moment, then strain the milk through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture in the bowl.
• Whisk together until smooth, then pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins.
• Stand the ramekins in a roasting tin and fill the tin half-way with boiling water from a kettle.
• Cook in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the custard has set. Do not overcook the custard - check around the edges of the dishes, to make sure no bubbles are appearing.
• Take the crème caramels out of the oven, remove the ramekins from the tray and set on a cooling rack. When cool, transfer to the fridge overnight so that the caramel is absorbed into the custard.
• To serve, loosen the sides of the custard by tipping the ramekin and loosen with a small palette knife round the edges. Place a serving dish on top of the ramekin and turn upside down. Serve with pouring cream.

CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepot over low heat. Let the sugar dissolve. Carefully brush the walls of the pot with a little water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing on the sides. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the syrup turns golden brown. Remove from the heat promptly and carefully divide the hot caramel among the 6 ramekins. Let cool for at least 2 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream to just below a boil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix together the egg yolks, caster sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Place the mixing bowl on top of a towel to keep it from wobbling while whisking in the hot liquid. Gently whisk 2 tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Slowly whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture 1/3 at a time, trying to prevent excess bubbles. Strain though a sieve.
• Place 6 ramekins evenly spaced in a paper towel-lined baking dish to prevent the ramekins from sliding. Pour 6 ounces into each caramel-coated ramekin. Place on the extended middle rack of the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the baking dish until 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. (Be careful not to get any water on the custard mixture.) Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and very gently slide it towards the center of the rack. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the custards are almost fully set. Remove from the oven. Use tongs to remove the ramekins from the hot water bath. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, then refrigerate until well chilled.
• To serve, dip the ramekin in very hot water for 15 to 20 seconds. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the ramekin. Invert the custards onto serving plates. The caramel will pool around the inverted custards. Serve immediately.

CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine all but 1/2 cup of the sugar with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, without stirring, until thick and amber in color. When caramelized, remove from the heat and divide among 6 individual crème caramel cups or ramekins. Let caramel cool to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, milk, lemon zest, vanilla, food coloring, and eggs, and mix very well. Pour this mixture into the cups or ramekins; fill each until nearly full.
• Place the creme caramel cups into a large baking dish. Make a water bath by adding water to the dish so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake for 45 minutes. Carefully remove from the water bath, let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until completely chilled before serving.