Creme caramel
09 / 07 / 02 |
Crème caramel, known as flan or flan casero in Spain is the country’s most popular dessert. It is on every menu in every region of Spain – and if made properly, it is sensational. A great crème caramel should be velvety smooth with a slight wobble.
The baked custard dessert needs no accompaniment, although I have had it served in Spain with fruit coulis (sauce), creamy sauces and fresh fruit. With a few minor changes to the recipe for the custard you can also make pouring custard (crème anglaise) and crème brûlée.
For the caramel
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
For the custard
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split down the middle
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
6 individual half-cup heatproof ramekins or moulds or one 3-cup mould. The caramel is extremely hot, so take care when handling it and make sure your dish can withstand very high heat.
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1. To make the caramel, put the water and sugar in a small saucepan over a low to medium heat and stir or swirl around until dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved do not stir again, bring to the boil and boil for about 10 minutes until golden. Watch carefully as it can turn golden very quickly once the water evaporates.
Pour into 6 individual ramekins/moulds (or 1 large mould) that have been warmed in the oven as it heats. Rotate the dishes for even coverage on the bottom. |
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2. To make the custard, warm the milk, cream and vanilla bean together until just scalded. Beat the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow. |
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3. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the cream, then stir the egg mixture into the warmed cream mixture. Strain and pour into the prepared moulds, pushing the vanilla seeds through the sieve if liked. |
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4. Set the moulds in a baking dish and fill with hot water to halfway up the moulds. Bake in a preheated 160ºC oven for 30-35 minutes for individual desserts or 50 minutes to 1 hour for the large crème caramel, or until set (a knife should come out clean from the custard). Cool and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. |
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5. Run a knife around the edge of the crème caramel and then turn out on to a serving plate. |
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Variations:
09 / 07 / 02 |
If you like a less rich custard use 2 cups of milk and no cream.
Try a different flavour by replacing the vanilla bean with a cinnamon stick and the zest of a lemon or the zest of 2 oranges.
Crème anglaise
Make the custard as in steps 2 and 3 but replace the cream with milk (2 cups of milk in all) and use 5 egg yolks (no whole eggs). Strain the mixture into a double boiler and place over simmering water, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes. If the mixture is not thick enough you can stir in 1 teaspoon of cornflour slackened in 1 tablespoon of cold milk.
Crème brûlée
Make the custard as in crème anglaise but use 2 cups of cream instead of the 2 cups of milk. Once the custard is thick, pour it into
6 individual dishes and chill well. Just before serving, sprinkle the tops with a layer of sugar and place under a very hot grill until the sugar melts and forms a toffee. If you have a cook’s blow torch, it makes melting the sugar very easy.
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