Crème Caramel
This is an excellent dessert for kids.  Apart from the sugar, of which there isn’t too much, the other ingredients are dairy and eggs, both of which are really good for them. This is an everyday dessert, so as such I keep the ingredient list simple and the end result not too rich.
Servings Prep Time
6 15min
Cook Time Passive Time
30min 12hours
Servings Prep Time
6 15min
Cook Time Passive Time
30min 12hours
Ingredients
For the crème
For the caramel
  • 120g sugarall white or a combination of white and brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (140C fan). Butter 6 ramekins or pudding basins and set aside. (This isn’t essential, but it helps with unmoulding the dessert).
  2. Pour the milk and cream into a small pan, cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds into the pan. Add the pod and bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover and leave to infuse while you make the caramel.
  3. Put the sugar for the caramel in a heavy saucepan in an even layer (preferably stainless steel so you can see the colour of the caramel). Leave on the lowest heat, and you will see the edges of the sugar beginning to melt.
  4. Don’t swirl the pan until the bulk of the sugar is melted and caramelising. At this stage, gently swirl to mix the unmelted bits with the hotter bits on the edge. Don’t increase the heat until all the sugar has completely melted.
  5. Once all the sugar has melted, you can increase the heat and cook until the sugar is evenly golden, and smelling like caramel. It all happens quickly so watch like a hawk. Remember it will continue to darken after you turn the heat off, so err on the side of caution.
  6. As soon as it’s achieved a light caramel colour, take if off the heat and quickly divide between it between the 6 moulds. Give each mould a quick swirl before it sets so that the base of each mould is well covered (see note below). Leave the caramel to cool about 5 minutes and meanwhile complete the crème.
  7. For the crème, put the eggs, yolks and the sugar into a heatproof bowl and whisk together until just mixed. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and slowly pour into the bowl, whisking all the time.
  8. Boil some water in a kettle for the bain-marie (water bath) to bake the custards.
  9. Then pour the egg mix through a sieve into the ramekins and put in a baking tray, which is at least 2” deep and can comfortably fit all 6 bowls. Cover each bowl tightly with foil. Pour hot water into the tray to come up about 1/2″ up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 12-15 minutes.
  10. The custard should be just set but still slightly wobbly at the centre. Check with a knife if in doubt. Remove from the bain-marie and leave to cool. Refrigerate until completely cold.
  11. To unmold, and run a slim non-serrated knife around the outside of each mould and invert on to plates. Sometimes you might find some stubborn caramel stuck at the bottom of the moulds, in that case, dip the base of the moulds in hot water briefly before turning out.
Recipe Notes

Tip – If your kitchen is cold, the caramel might set too quickly in the ramekins before you have a chance to swirl it around the base. If so, briefly warm the ramekins in the pre-heated oven for a few minutes, whilst you are preparing the caramel.  

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