Crème au Caramel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1 litre (4 cup) metal charlotte mould or deep round mould
• •Small pale stainless-steel saucepan
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the mould

   Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Set a folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a deep roasting pan so the mould cannot skate, and bring a kettle of water nearly to the boil. Warm a clean, completely dry 1 litre metal mould in the oven for 3 minutes, then place it on a heatproof surface beside the stove. Do not grease it. Caramel must meet the mould directly.

   Use metal rather than glass. Metal tolerates the hot caramel, warms evenly, and releases the chilled custard with less persuasion.
2. 2

   Clothe with caramel

   Prepare the granulated sugar for golden caramel according to The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344). Replace the reference's bare-finger tests with a pale saucepan and your eyes: the instant the syrup becomes clear old gold and smells faintly toasted, pull it from the heat. If it grains before colouring, return it to low heat with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water and let the crystals dissolve without stirring. Ça se rattrape. Sugar that has become smoky and bitter cannot be rescued, so begin again rather than carrying that bitterness into the custard. Immediately pour the caramel into the warm mould. Wearing oven gloves, tilt and rotate it until the bottom and sides wear a thin, even coat, following the coating principle in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916). That aspic method uses broken ice to set jelly; omit it here because hot caramel sets by itself and sudden chilling risks thermal shock. If the caramel hardens before the sides are clothed, hold the mould over the lowest heat for a few seconds to soften it, then continue tilting.

3. 3

   Infuse the milk

   Scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk and add the pod. Heat gently until small bubbles gather around the edge and the surface begins to quiver, never letting it boil. Cover, remove from the heat, and infuse for 10 minutes. Lift out the pod and press it against the pan so its milk returns to the custard.

4. 4

   Mix without foam

   Stir the eggs and custard sugar together just until the whites disappear. Do not whip; trapped air becomes holes in the finished crème au caramel. Pour in the warm vanilla milk gradually, stirring steadily so the eggs warm without scrambling, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve. If a few egg threads formed, the sieve catches them and the custard is saved. Let it stand for 5 minutes and skim away any foam.

5. 5

   Poach the custard

   Pour the custard into the caramel-clothed mould. The hardened caramel may crack beneath it. This looks alarming and is exactly right. Cover the mould loosely with foil, place it in the prepared roasting pan, and pour hot water around it until the water reaches halfway up the sides. Pocher au bain-marie means to poach gently in a water bath. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, checking at 40. The outer custard should be set while a circle about 5 cm (2 inches) wide still trembles softly at the centre; an instant-read thermometer there should register 80 to 82°C (176 to 180°F). If the bath begins bubbling, lower the oven and add a little cool water. A boiling bath makes a grainy custard, but caught early, it recovers.

6. 6

   Cool and chill

   Lift the mould from the water and remove the foil. Cool it on a rack for 45 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. The custard finishes setting in the cold while moisture dissolves the caramel into sauce. Do not try to unmould it warm; patience, not force.

7. 7

   Turn it out

   Run a thin knife only around the upper edge of the custard. Dip the base of the mould into warm water for 10 seconds, dry it, and set a low-rimmed serving plate upside down over the top. Hold plate and mould firmly together, invert them in one confident movement, and lift the mould away. If the custard clings, return the base to warm water for another 5 seconds rather than prying. Let every drop of amber caramel run over the custard and pool around it. Serve chilled, with nothing to hide its vanilla or its tremble. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a pale stainless-steel saucepan for caramel. A dark or nonstick interior hides the colour, and colour is your truest measure: clear old gold is ready, dark mahogany is already bitter.
• •Whole milk is deliberate. Extra cream makes a denser, richer custard, but the source calls for a moulded vanilla custard whose clean flavour and delicate set allow the caramel to lead.
• •Stir the custard rather than whisking it. Foam is air, and air leaves tunnels through the cooked cream. If foam persists after resting, skim it with a spoon before filling the mould.
• •Serve the crème au caramel unadorned. Berries, mint, and piped cream only interrupt the conversation between vanilla custard and caramel sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the complete crème au caramel one or two days before serving and keep it covered in its mould. The long chill strengthens the set and gives the caramel time to become sauce.
• •Turn it out no more than 30 minutes before serving and return it to the refrigerator. It keeps for up to three days in the mould, but it does not freeze well because thawing makes the custard weep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)