These individual crème caramel desserts are a rich and creamy egg custard with caramel sauce, that is baked in a water bath then chilled and turned out onto a serving plate.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Spanish
Keyword: baked custard served in a puddle of caramel sauce
Pour sugar into a large saucepan. Shake to spread evenly, and heat slowly without stirring. Tilt the pan back and forth until the sugar melts.
Remove the ramekins from the water and dry thoroughly. When the sugar turns a rich golden color, pour the mixture into the ramekins and tilt to spread evenly until the bottom is coated. Set aside.
To make the Custard:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk into a saucepan, and add the vanilla bean. Heat milk to just below the boiling point. The liquid will start to move and swell, and form tiny bubbles around the edge of the pan.
Pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool.
Beat eggs in a large bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar.
Remove the vanilla bean from the milk, and add the vanilla extract. Gradually mix into the eggs.
Strain the mixture into a bowl (I used the original milk bowl).
Ladle mixture into caramel lined ramekins and place into a large roasting pan.
Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. The custards are done when a slender knife blade comes out clean when inserted into the center.
Lift the ramekins out of the roasting pan, and set aside to cool. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.
To serve, run a knife around the outside edge of the custard.
Place on a serving plate, and flip over. You may need to shake the ramekin, or tap the bottom to brake the seal. Caramel will puddle around the base of the Custard.
Notes
The trickiest part of this dessert, is making the caramel. It can go from "why won't you melt" to "oops, it's burnt" in the blink of an eye. You need to keep your eyes on it!
I use a turkey baster to suck up the hot water before removing the cooked custards from the baking dish.
For dairy-free: Substitute 1) 14 ounce can of full-fat coconut milk and 2+ cups of boxed, refrigerated coconut milk to equal 4 cups total. All other instructions remain the same.