I really love dessert. If I dont have something sweet after dinner, my stomach will bother me until I give it a treat of some kind. Caramel is one of my favorite ingredients in dessert. And whats more classic than Creme Caramel? I like this recipe because it is easy to make, it keeps in the refrigerator for a few days and it has a simple, but dramatic, presentation.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 8 (6-ounce) servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup turbinado sugar (using turbinado sugar for the caramel heightens the flavor)
- 1/3 cup water
- 5 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Arrange the ramekins in a roasting pan or baking sheet.
- Using a stainless steel pan, combine the turbinado sugar with the water, swirl to blend and heat until it forms a clear syrup. When the sugar and the water have “melted” together completely, raise the heat and watch as the caramel darkens slightly, amber in color. Remove from the heat and immediately divide the caramel evenly between the 8 ramekins. Try to have all the caramel on the bottom of each ramekin and not so much on the sides. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar and salt. In a medium pot, over medium heat bring the milk to a gentle simmer. Add the vanilla and pour it slowly over the egg mixture, whisking to blend. Distribute the liquid evenly between the 8 ramekins. Put at least 1 1/2 inches of water in the bottom of the roasting pan or baking sheet so it makes a “water bath” for the custards as they cook. Put the roasting pan in the center of the oven and bake until they are firm in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until serving.
- When the custards are completely cool, run a knife around the top edge of each ramekin and turn the ramekin upside down on the plate. When you lift it, the caramel at the bottom will pour over the custard and form a delicious pool on the plate, which makes for a fun presentation.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 269 |
| Total Fat | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 49 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 49 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 109 mg |
| Sodium | 108 mg |
Reviews
I decreased the caramel to 1/3 cup
I decreased the sugar to 1/2 cup
Perfection!
I make this very often!
I decreased the sugar to 1/2 cup
Perfection!
I make this very often!
This recipe was way too quick and easy, and it yielded a very sad flan. Every time I’ve made made his dish previously, it was a much more complex process. This custard was incredibly lumpy, and tasted strongly of eggs. It was overwhelmingly sweet and totally overwhelmed the accent caramel flavor. I’m really glad I didn’t make make this for a family get together because it was embarrassingly bad.
I just tried this recipe for a mini Mother’s Day Fiesta at my dad’s office for the ladies. I must say..i had some leftover filling so i drank it & it was good!! Tasted somewhat like Ponche De Creme-a popular drink at Christmas time in my country. Anyway this recipe came out really good for my first time using a water bath: Very proud of myself! Great work Alex:
Niala<3
Niala<3
It tasted like eggs. I could not even taste caramel, just eggs. I would not recommend this to people who do not like their desserts to taste like eggs.
Oven temperature was way too high. After 35 minutes of baking my creme caramel puffed up like a suffle. This is probably why others said theirs came out gritty. Tried it again, this time at 275 degrees and they were done after 40 minutes. Much better turnout!
We thought Alex’s recipe was wonderful. When one consider’s that most Creme Caramel recipes call for more eggs and heavy cream, we felt we were eating a delicious Creme Caramel without the guilt of heavy cream and more eggs. I must admit, being a sugarholic, I increased the sugar to one cup for the custard which didn’t make it to sweet for my family. The cook just has to judge what their family would like tweaked a bit.
The turbinado sugar really bumped up the flavor of the caramel.
The turbinado sugar really bumped up the flavor of the caramel.
I love this show…I love her food….she and Anne Burrell are the best ‘ things’ on Food Network..
But…I wish food network had one of those calculators that All Recipes has..where if you want to raise or lower the amount, you put in the number of servings you want and it re-makes the
recipe amounts for that. It’s a wonderful system. Thanks again, Alex and Anne.
Barbara
But…I wish food network had one of those calculators that All Recipes has..where if you want to raise or lower the amount, you put in the number of servings you want and it re-makes the
recipe amounts for that. It’s a wonderful system. Thanks again, Alex and Anne.
Barbara
I tried this Creme Caramel recipe today. It was delicious….but what is the process for reheating leftovers, so that the caramel will be melted again? Also,althought I followed this recipe, exactly, I found my caramel to be gritty, what caused this, overcooking the caramel?
can u use anything else for the turbinado sugar?
It tasted a little egg-y…maybe it’s supposed to? It still tasted great though. Next time, I’d try maybe one less egg, and also add a little lemon zest and/or a little bit of whiskey to minimize the egg taste.