Most of our family dinners at restaurants end with caramel custards. At most places, its eggy. But, when made right, it can be deliciously creamy, and supremely rich yet so light. It is personally, the best way to end a heavy dinner. There is not much you need to fo to this custard dessert. Mostly, they’re just served as it is, or with some whipped cream and cherries.
Caramel custards, also known as creme caramel or flan is a jiggly egg custard dessert that has a layer of almost bitter caramel at the bottom. It is one of the easiest desserts. There are a lot of ways to make creme caramel. People have come up with so many innovative ideas. There are even instant custards available at supermarkets. There are pressure cooker recipes and no bake gelatine versions. But when a classic is so easy to make, why go for other methods? The dessert has two main components. One is the caramel, which is made with just sugar and sometimes a bit of water. Its poured in the pan and left to set hard. The second is the custard which is milk, cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar. All you need to do is mix all the ingredients. Pour it over the hard set caramel and bake it in a water bath for 60 minutes or till the top looks set when you jiggle it.
For the caramel, in a saucepan, add the sugar. Let it caramelise on medium heat. Do not stir it with a spoon or spatula to minimise crystallisation. Keep the heat on low- medium so that the sugar melts evenly.
Pour this hot caramel into the creme caramel pan and leave it aside to set. It needs to set hard before you pour in the custard.
In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the custard. Give it a quick mix and pour it into the prepared creme caramel pan.
Prepare a water bath for the custard pan and bake the custard in the pan for about 60-70 minutes. How to check if its done: The top should look set. The jiggle should be only in the centre. The rest of it should look completely set. This gives a better jiggle that we all love.
Set it in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Unmould it by flipping the pan onto a flat tray. Decorate with whipped cream and cherries.
Recipe:
For the caramel:
Sugar- 2 cups
For the custard:
milk- 2 cups
cream- 2 cups
egg- 4
egg yolk- 2
sugar- 3/4 cup
vanilla- 2 teaspoons
For the caramel, in a saucepan, add the sugar. Let it caramelize on medium heat. Do not stir it with a spoon or spatula to minimise crystallisation. Keep the heat on low – medium so that the sugar melts evenly. Pour this hot caramel into the creme caramel pan and leave it aside to set. It needs to set hard before you pour in the custard.
In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the custard. Give it a quick mix and pour it into the prepared 8 inch diameter creme caramel pan. Prepare a water bath for the custard pan and bake the custard in the pan for about 60-70 minutes. How to check if its done: The top should look set. The jiggle should be only in the centre. The rest of it should look completely set. This gives a better jiggle that we all love. Set it in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Un mould it by flipping the pan onto a flat tray. Decorate with whipped cream and cherries.
-ISHANI SHENOY- 