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Creme Caramel (Valentine's Day Dessert)

by · 18 comments
My husband loves eggs. He loves every egg dish, no matter whether it’s savoury or sweet. For Valentine’s Day, it’s quite natural to make something simple and sweet. It’s a day to relax with minimum cooking time, if not dining out. So I prepared some crème caramel, a classic French dessert.

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I often think crème caramel is quite similar to the Hong Kong steamed custard. The former is baked in an oven, whereas the latter is steamed in a wok. The highlight of the French dessert is the caramel – an elegant and sensational caramelized syrup. Super delicious.

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Creme Caramel Recipe

(Printable recipe)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Western
Prep time:
Cook time:
Yield: 4x150ml-capacity ramekins


Creme Caramel


Ingredients:
  • 160 ml whipping cream
  • 160 ml milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 lemon zest (only the yellow part), each about 0.5cmx5cm in size, optional
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 50 gm caster sugar
  • hot water
Caramel:
  • 100 gm caster sugar
  • 50 ml water


Preparing Caramel


Preparing Custard

Method :
  1. Prepare a large baking tray: Line with a tea towel. (Note: it helps secure the ramekins.) Place 4 ramekins in the tray. Set aside.
  2. To make caramel: put water, followed by sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Lightly swirl the saucepan to help combine the water and sugar. Continue to cook until the sugar dissolves. Once it boils, stop stirring, and continue to cook until golden-brown. Pour into 4 individual 150ml-capacity ramekins, turning ramekins to coat the bottom and sides.
  3. Preheat oven to 160C/320F.
  4. Whisk the whole egg, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. Set aside.
  5. Warm the cream and milk in a small saucepan. Add lemon zest if you like. When it almost boils but not yet, remove from the heat. Rest for about 3 minutes. Stir into the egg mixture. Strain and pour into the prepared ramekins. Fill the large baking tray with hot water (not boiling) and baked in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the custard is set.
  6. Remove from oven. Let it cool completely. Cover and chill in fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
  7. Run a knife around the edge of the custard to unmould onto serving plates. Serve with fresh fruit.


Notes:
  • When making caramel, the sugar mixture is extremely hot. Just cook until you see the colour has changed to a shade lighter than what you desire, then immediately remove from heat, as the cooking will continue after taken off the heat. After pouring into the ramekins, the colour will become darker.
  • Once the sugar and water mixture begins to boil, don’t stir it. Otherwise the sugar won’t become caramelized, but crystallized instead.
  • You can use a wok to steam the custard instead of using an oven. Steam, covered with foil, for about 15 minutes, or until the custard sets. Let it cool completely and chill in fridge.
  • After chilling, the caramel will become liquid. You’ll enjoy silky smooth custard topped with caramelized syrup.


18 comments :

  1. I love this dessert very much. Yours look so elegant and pretty, Happy Valentine's Day!

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  2. Beautiful! Good for Valentine's Day. I made creme brulee today :)

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  3. I want that for Valentine's Day too! I must get my hubby to make this for me :D At least once a year, right? But I know he will run a thousand miles if I ask...haha. Love your presentation.

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  4. My boyfriend's a lover of eggs too~ He's always asking me to make him omelettes, bacon and eggs, creme brulee and the hong kong steamed egg custard too :D But hahaha i haven't made creme caramel before gotta give this recipe a go ~ Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Excellent recipe for Valentine's Day! =)

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  6. This is such a creamy dessert, I have to try this out. Looks so rich and flavorful! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. wow..stunning picture and lovely recipe..happy valentines day.

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  8. I love this! I used to make this using instant packets..lazy me.

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  9. I made this yesterday for Valentine's Day and it was delicious. Thank you, Christine. The only thing is after baking it for 25 minutes at 320 degree, the custard was not set. So I hade to increase the temperature to 350 degree and bake it for another 25 minutes. But they turned out perfect and taste just like the dessert we had when we were on a cruise. Thanks again, Christine.

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  10. This is so delectable....lovely clicks, mmmmm..

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  11. I was just thinking of making this dessert for my daughter. And I have stumbled upon your website which is great. My little one loves caramel and I will have to try this out for her.
    Lovely presentation and beautiful clicks.

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  12. im making this dessert now bake at 325f degrees for 25 minutes custard is not set im just turning to 350f for another 5 minutes hope it will set

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  13. Hi Christine,
    I made this creme caramel few times last 2 weeks, but i got difficulty to take out the custard from the ramekin, I did run knife around the edge of the ramekin but when i put up side down the ramekin the custard become not smooth . Do i need to grease the ramekin first before put the caramel on it?

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  14. Crap I missed this out last Valentines. Anyway, this recipe is not designed for that day only. I can make this sooner or later and whenever I want. I will share this with my delicious.com account at gourmandia.com. The sweet taste is very tempting. The dish is very enticing. I just don't understand why I feel thirsty every time I take a bite.

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  15. @Kat:
    Oh well, feel free to grease your ramekins with some butter. It might help.

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  16. Hi christine, I made this a few days ago. and it was really good! thanks for the recipe. But I'm wondering, do you have any tips that will make it even smoother and softer? I find the texture is not very soft like it should be. I used full cream milk and grade B eggs. Oh, and I used the steam method. could it be that I over steamed them?

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  17. @~Sn0w AnGeL~:
    I tried steaming method a few times. The custard was very soft and smooth.
    I used medium eggs, about 55 grams each.
    If your eggs are too large, you can add a bit more milk to adjust the consistency. Either full cream milk or skim milk can work.

    If you cover the bowl with foil when steaming, it can prevent the custard from over cooking easily.

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