Crème renversée au caramel (Creme renversee au caramel ~ Japanese "Pudding") Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes to 1 hour Makes: 6 - 8 servings (6 ounce ramekins) Notes: 20101112: Flavoring Notes: Add post extract vanilla pods into the cooking milk for extra flavor. Remove after boil. Add extract per recipe. 20101112: Caramel Notes: Made this with 2/3 cup spun sugar for caramel and that was too much caramel: recommend 1/3 cup sugar. Making caramel sauce with water was a bit of a pain. Recommend trying with only a few drops of water in the middle of the sugar pile. Make carmel really dark for a coffee-like bitterness. 20101112: Flan Notes: Used 1 cup of sugar in the flan by mistake and that was fine, although sweet. 20101112: Large Dish Notes: Made in a glass bread loaf dish. Took an extra 1/2 hour to cook for extra size dish at slightly reduced temp. Perfect texture. 20101114: Milk Free Notes: Made with cashew milk as a test. 1 cup of cashew powder topped up to 3 cups total. Run on high for 3 minutes in VitaMix. Stir well during heating just to a boil and milk will not break. When baking at 300F for 1 hour this did curdle. Perhaps 275F? INGREDIENTS: 2/3 cup sugar, for caramel 2/3 cup sugar, for flan 3 cups whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 large eggs 1. To make the caramel, place 2/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and wet with just enough water to dissolve it (about 1 tablespoon). Heat on medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, but don't stir. The syrup will boil for a while until it starts to turn brown. Once it has turned brown, remove it from the heat and immediately pour the caramel into 6 ramekins. 2. In another saucepan, heat the milk with the other 2/3 cup sugar until it reaches a boil. Stir in vanilla. In a sturdy bowl, whisk the eggs for a minute or two. Whisk in the hot milk, slowly at first to avoid coagulating the eggs. Whisk to completely mix. 3. Pour (or ladle if that works better for you) the milk mixture into the ramekins on top of the caramel. Place all 6 ramekins in a large oven proof dish. Fill the dish with water to about 2/3 the height of the ramekins. 4. Carefully place in 300° F oven. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour (baking time can depend on the dishes used). The water should not boil during baking. The custard is done when it has set, which you can verify by inserting a knife. 5. Allow the custard to cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate in their ramekins until serving time. 6. To serve, run a knife along the outside of each creme, than turn over onto a dessert plate. =========================================== Alternate recipe, not yet tried Crème Caramel * Recipe by Thomas Keller In his Bouchon cookbook, Thomas Keller calls this outstanding custard, covered with sweet caramel, the pinnacle of all bistro desserts. To ensure that the creamy crème caramel bakes slowly and evenly in the oven, Keller sets the custards in a hot water bath and cooks them at 300°, covered with a double layer of plastic wrap. * ACTIVE: 30 MIN * TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS plus overnight chilling * SERVINGS: 8 * MAKE-AHEAD Ingredients Caramel 1. 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 2. 3 tablespoons light corn syrup 3. 3 tablespoons water Custard 1. 1 quart whole milk 2. 1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar 3. 5 large eggs 4. 3 large egg yolks 5. 2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Directions 1. MAKE THE CARAMEL: Arrange eight 1-cup ramekins in a large roasting pan. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, corn syrup and water to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring lightly to dissolve the sugar. Simmer until a rich, amber caramel forms, about 25 minutes. Wash down any sugar crystals from the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Pour an equal amount of hot caramel into each ramekin; if the caramel gets too hard, gently reheat it. 2. MAKE THE CUSTARD: Preheat the oven to 300°. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and sugar just to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 5 minutes. Let cool until warm. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk the eggs with the yolks. Slowly whisk in the warm milk mixture and then the vanilla. 3. Strain the custard and pour it into the prepared ramekins. Add enough hot water to the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with 2 layers of plastic wrap. Bake the custards for about 1 hour, or until they are set but still slightly jiggly in the center. 4. Remove the hot custards from the water bath and let them cool on a rack to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate the custards overnight. 5. To serve, pour 2 inches of very hot water into a small bowl. Dip a ramekin in the hot water for about 10 seconds, then run a thin knife around the edge of the ramekin to loosen the custard. Invert the crème caramel onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining crème caramels and serve.