Sassy Mama French family favourites: Crème caramel

Crème caramel is one of the most traditional French desserts. A healthy mix of milk, sugar and eggs, it is universally loved by kids and adults alike! Here, our French foodie Laurent Brouard of Chez Patrick shares the secrets of this classic in this surprisingly simple recipe.

Crème caramel
Serves 8
Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
For the caramel:
25g of white caster sugar
5 centiliters of water

For the custard:
250g of sugar
8 whole eggs
One vanilla pod
One litre of full-fat milk

Method

• To prepare the caramel, boil the water and sugar together in a saucepan on a medium heat until light brown. Then pour the caramel into 8 individual ramekins or mini soufflé dishes, and leave to set.
• Prepare the custard by combining the whole eggs with the sugar, and beating until your mixture is white and foamy. Then, split your vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the beans, and add this to the egg and sugar mixture. Finally, pour in the milk while mixing continuously.
• Once the caramel in the ramekins is set, pour your custard mix on top, before placing the dishes in a large oven-proof tray, half-filled with water.
• Bake in a 150°c oven for 45 minutes.
• Once baked, allow to cool before transferring to the fridge and chilling for a minimum of 2 hours.

You can eat this straight from the ramekin (and kids won’t want to wait!), but for a fancier presentation, you can run a knife along the edges of the ramekins, turn out the crème caramels and present them on individual plates, garnished with fresh fruit.

Et voilà! Bon appétit!

Laurent Brouard is the Head Chef of Chez Patrick Catering. He has over 17 years experience working with world-renowned chefs, such as Joel Robuchon and Bernard Loiseau. Laurent also has extensive experience organising large scale events for private and corporate customers. Having worked in Japan for 7 years, Laurent adores Japanese cuisine and is heavily influenced by these flavours and tastes.