Burnt Custard 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.

SCOTT'S ORIGINAL BURNT CREAM

Steps:

• Cream:.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat cream over low heat until bubbles form around the edgo of the pan.
• Beat egg yolks and sugar together until thick, about 3 minutes.
• Gradually beat cream into egg yolks, then stir in vanilla.
• Pour mixture into 6 six-ounce custard cups or creme brulee dishes. Place in baking dish that has about 1/2 cup water in the bottom. Bake until set, about 45 minute. Remove custard cups from the water. Refrigerate until chilled.
• Sugar Topping:.
• Stir together both sugars then sprinkle each custard with about 2 teaspoons of the sugar blend.
• Place on the top rack under the broiler, cooking until the topping is medium brown. Chill before serving.

BURNT CARAMEL PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 300°F.
• 2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream; toss the scraped pod in there too. Turn the heat to low to gently warm the cream.
• 3. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pour the remaining sugar and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, set over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then crank the heat to high and let the liquid bubble away-don't stir, just swirl the pan occasionally-until it turns dark amber. This takes about 4 minutes, but watch closely, because it happens fast. Reduce the heat to medium.
• 4. Moving quickly, fish the vanilla pod out of the cream (rinse it and save for another use) and slowly stir the warm cream into the caramel. Once it comes to a boil (this will happen fast), remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
• 5. Whisk the egg yolks with the reserved sugar and a pinch of sea salt in a medium bowl. Whisk a little of the cream-caramel mixture into the egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the rest until it's all incorporated.
• 6. Strain the mixture into a pitcher or large measuring cup and pour it into four 6-ounce ramekins (see Tips and Techniques). Place the ramekins in a shallow baking pan filled halfway with cold water. If you like your caramel a bit salty, like me, sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on top of each pudding. Cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until just set.
• 7. Chill the puddings for at least 3 hours; but it's best if you can chill them overnight. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

SALTED CARAMEL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place 6 (6.5 ounce) ramekins in a baking dish.
• Place sugar evenly in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Without stirring, allow sugar to slowly melt around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. When edges start to bubble, shake and swirl pan to dissolve remaining sugar but without stirring it. Keep pan moving until you have a clear, dark caramel, about 10 minutes. When sugar is completely dissolved, whisk in cream; caramel will cool into a lump; this is normal. Keep stirring over medium heat until caramel melts and mixture comes up to temperature and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat
• Stir in kosher salt, vanilla, and cold milk; mix well.
• Place egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in a ladleful of caramel/milk mixture to the yolks. Add 2 more ladlefuls, one at a time. Then mix in the remainder of the caramel/milk mixture to the yolks, whisking until thoroughly blended.
• Divide custard mixture evenly among the ramekins. Carefully pour into the baking dish enough water so that it comes halfway up the sides of the filled ramekins.
• Bake in preheated oven until custard is set and the top of custard jiggles evenly across the surface, 45 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of your ramekins and how full they are). If the center seems looser than the edges, continue to bake another minute or so.
• Transfer ramekins to a cooling rack; cool to room temperature. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour until they are very cold.
• Serve topped with a pinch of light, flaky sea salt.