Crème Caramel
Baked custard turned out so the caramel runs down it. The caramel goes into the moulds first and dissolves into a sauce while it chills.
Photograph credit: Crème caramel 2 (image of crème caramel on Wikidata Q374381) by Amanda Coutinho · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Before You Start
Overnight in the fridge. That is when the caramel becomes a sauce.
Skim the bubbles before baking.
A bare tremble in the water bath, never a simmer.
Photograph credit: Creme Caramel. by Miansari66 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
How to Make Crème Caramel
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Boil the caramel sugar and water without stirring until it is a deep amber. Pour immediately into six ramekins, tilting to coat the bases. It will set hard.
-
Heat the milk, cream and vanilla to steaming, then leave to infuse 15 minutes.
-
Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar and salt together without making them foam.
-
Pour the warm milk onto the eggs, whisking gently, then strain the custard to remove any threads.
-
Skim off every bubble from the surface — they bake into the finished custard as holes.
-
Pour into the ramekins, stand them in a roasting dish, and pour in hot water to come halfway up. Bake at 150°C / 300°F for 45 minutes, until set with a faint wobble.
-
Cool, then refrigerate at least 720 minutes. Run a knife round each and turn out onto a plate so the caramel runs.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Why the Method Works
It has to chill overnight, and not for convenience — the hard caramel in the base only dissolves into a pourable sauce after several hours in contact with the cold custard. Turned out after two hours you get set custard and a layer of toffee stuck to the dish. The bain-marie water must also be no more than a bare tremble; a simmering water bath boils the custard and gives it a bubbled, curdled texture.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Refrigerated for 4 days in the ramekins. It does not freeze.
Good With
- Espresso
- A crisp biscuit
- Nothing
Questions and Answers
How long does Crème Caramel take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking, plus 12 hours 15 minutes of chilling overnight so the caramel liquefies, so allow 13 hours 25 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 6.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More French cooking and desserts ideas from Weekly Delight.
Crème Brûlée
A vanilla custard so smooth it barely holds a spoon, under a sheet of caramel thin enough to crack with a tap. The…
Flan Parisien
A deep custard tart with a thick, wobbling set and a scorched top. Sold by the slab in every French bakery and…
Vacherin aux Fraises
Layers of crisp meringue sandwiched with whipped cream and strawberries, the meringue dried in a low oven for 90…
Riz au Lait
Rice cooked slowly in vanilla milk until it is creamy but the grains still hold. Served warm in the bowl it was…
Baba au Rhum
A yeasted sponge soaked until it is saturated with rum syrup. It should be heavy with it — a dry baba is a failed one.
Cherry Clafoutis
A Limousin dessert somewhere between a flan and a pancake: cherries dropped into a loose batter and baked until it…