Best 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.

BASIC CRèME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Arrange eight 6-oz. ramekins in a large roasting pan. Make the Basic Caramel according to the directions, but cook it another 30 seconds or so to a medium-dark amber (pictured below). Immediately pour the hot caramel into the bottoms of the ramekins, portioning it equally. Quickly and carefully swirl each ramekin to coat the bottom evenly and coax the caramel about 1/2 inch up the sides of the ramekins. Set aside to let the caramel harden.
• Fill a teakettle with water and bring to a boil. Combine the milk, cream, sugar, and salt in a heavy-duty 3-quart saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk the eggs, yolks, and vanilla in a medium bowl and then slowly add the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a 1-quart heatproof measuring cup. Portion the custard among the ramekins.it should just about fill each one. Pour the hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan until it comes one-third to halfway up the sides of the ramekins (be careful not to splash water into the custards). Bake the custards in the water bath until the edges are set but the centers still jiggle slightly when gently shaken, 30 to 35 minutes. If the centers are more wavy than jiggly, cook them a bit longer. Rotate the pan halfway through if the custards appear to be baking unevenly. Carefully transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and cool completely. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 3 days. To serve, run a small knife around the edge of each ramekin to loosen the custard. Quickly invert each custard onto a plate. If it doesn't release right away, gently shake the ramekin from side to side a few times to help it out.

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.

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.

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:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan heat the milk, the vanilla pod over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Do not boil.
• For the caramel: Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat until the sugar dissolves and continue cooking until the sugar turns golden brown. Do not stir. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of orange juice. (Be very careful when you add this because the hot sugar will fly everywhere.) Shake the pan to incorporate the orange juice and sugar.
• Spray 8 (4 to 5-ounce) ramekin dishes or 1 large flan mold, with cooking spray. Pour the caramel into the dishes, to completely cover the bottom. In a large bowl mix together the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, the eggs, and a pinch of salt and whisk well. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and gradually blend the milk into egg and sugar mixture while stirring or whisking constantly. Stir in the heavy cream, then strain the egg mixture through a sieve.
• At this point, add the vanilla bean seeds and pour the mixture into the ramekin dishes over the caramel. Fill a deep casserole dish with water and arrange ramekins in the casserole dish. The water should reach halfway up the dishes. Bake in the preheated 200 degrees F oven until the custard sets, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the ramekins from the oven and cool. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
• To serve: Mix together fresh berries and raspberry sauce in a small bowl. Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and loosen the edges with a small knife. Put a dessert plate on top of the ramekin dish, and turn upside down, so that the caramel sits on top. Remove ramekin dish. Spoon the berries on top of each creme caramel and garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

THE ULTIMATE CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the water and sugar in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Tilt pan to ensure that sugar is dissolved. Do not stir the mixture or the sugar will crystallize. Increase heat to high and cook until sugar turns amber in colour.
• Pour liquid caramel into six 3-inch (6 ounce) ramekins, dividing equally and tilting ramekins to cover the bottoms with the caramel.
• Over medium heat, bring milk just to a boil in medium saucepan with salt and scraped vanilla bean. Remove from heat and cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved.
• Stir together eggs and egg yolk in a medium bowl until well blended. Add warm milk and stir. Strain the mixture over a large measuring cup or clean bowl and pour or ladle over caramel-lined ramekins.
• Transfer ramekins to a baking pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in preheated oven until a tester comes out clean when inserted in the centers and the crème caramel jiggles as one, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove ramekins from bath. Let cool to room temperature. Garnish with shards of the Pistachio Praline.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add sugar and pistachio nuts to a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, tilting the pan (do not stir), until the sugar melts and turns a rich brown caramel colour. Remove from heat immediately and pour onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely. Once cooled, break into shards for garnish.