CRÈME CARAMEL PERFECTED

I was in the mood, so I Googled it, having never made this myself before.
I found a recipe called ‘the best’ and promptly made it on Saturday evening.

The end product certainly didn’t qualify as ‘the nest’ in my book, so Nellie and I devoured the thing and I immediately set about making the next one.

This time around I of course tweaked the recipe a bit.
Perfection.

So I have saved you all the ground work.
Now you too can make what is more deserving of the title ‘the best crème caramel.’

THE CUSTARD

2 eggs
4 egg yolks
3 Heaped tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon essence
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
250ml (1 cup) cream
2 cups milk

Bring the milk, cream and sugar to a boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
As soon as it comes to the boil, remove from heat and add the vanilla and lemon essence.

In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks until they are a pale yellow and begins to stiffen.

Pour the milk into the egg mixture slowly while stirring.

Let the mixture cool, then strain through a cloth into a jug.

THE CARAMEL

100g (1/2 cup) White Sugar
75ml (5 tablespoons) water

In a heavy-based pan, heat the sugar and water over a low heat stirring continuously.
When the sugar is dissolved, increase the temperature to medium and bring to the boil.
Let it boils for about 5-6 minutes until it turns a golden brown.
Remove from heat and immediately pour into a medium-sized ovenproof dish. Swirl to coat the bottom of the dish.

Now pour the custard over this base and place the dish in a bigger dish or baking tray.
You can also use ramekins if you want to make individual servings.
Fill the baking tray with boiling water.
The water should be at least halfway up the smaller dish.

Place on the lowest rung of the preheated oven and bake at 170 degrees C for 40-minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Run a knife along the sides of the dish and invert onto a plate.

Kader Khan