Alex Petit's classic crème caramel: Today
A French classic.
Ingredients
For: 6 people
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
For the caramel
100 g sugar
3 tbsp water optional
For the custard
500 mL whole fat milk
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
80 g white sugar ½ cup
For the shortbread biscuit
215 g butter unsalted
1 pinch salt
100 g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
250 g plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Make the caramel:
Put the granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan, ensure the sugar and water is mixed
Cook over a medium to high heat without stirring for about about 10 minutes
When light to medium brown, remove from the heat and pour directly into 6 ramekins.
Make the custard:
Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F (150°C fan/Gas 3).
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and add the vanilla.
Over medium heat, bring the milk to the simmer.
While the milk is heating up, place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar vigorously until the mix has become pale.
Pour in the vanilla milk onto the egg mix and whisk gently just until combined.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting dish.
Pour the warm thin custard over the caramel in each ramekin, filling near to the top.
Place the roasting tin in the middle of the oven and pour in warm-hot water into the roasting dish half way to the height of the ramekins to create a bain marie.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until set and remove from the oven carefully.
Remove the ramekins onto a cooling rack and when chilled to room temperature, transfer to the fridge covered with a clean cloth for at least 2 hours or ideally overnight.
Make the sablé biscuits:
Put the butter, caster and icing sugars in a large bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy.
Stir in the vanilla then add the egg yolks one at a time, combining each egg into the mix before adding the next
Stir in the sieved flour and combine carefully.
Once the dough starts to clump together, bring it together into a ball.
Roll out the dough to about half an inch or just over a centimetre thick.
Cut out the biscuits to your desired shape and place a couple of centimetres apart on a baking tray with parchment paper.
Chill the biscuits on the tray for about 30 minutes before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius fan / Gas 5 and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden.
To serve:
Carefully run a small knife around the edges of each ramekins.
In a swift movement, turn each ramekins up side down onto a dessert plate.
Spoon out all the caramel on top and serve with a couple of sable biscuit.
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