Caramel Custard

This heavenly tasting thing is an all-time crowd pleaser and Joe’s most favorite ; mine too . I think it originated in one of the European countries , most likely France, where it is called crème caramel. It is quite a popular dessert in India , where the custard is mostly made from scratch boiling down the milk ,egg and sugar mixture and then pressure cooked. After several unsuccessful attempts to re-create it here in the conventional oven , a friend of mine had a light-bulb moment : why not try making it like the Vanilla Flan , which is a traditional American dessert. So, with some tweaking , she successfully made and Indian style Caramel Custard in the conventional oven. Ever since I got this recipe from her I have made it and served it several times for family and friends ..and hope you do the same too.

Prep time :15 min

Cooking time :45 min

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients :

For the custard:

- 3 large eggs

- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

- 14 oz whole or 2% milk

- 1 tbs vanilla essence

- 1 pinch of grated nutmeg ( optional: use it only if you like the spicy flavor)

For the Caramel Sauce

- ¾ cup granulated sugar

You will also need :

- 9” round cake pan or pie plate

- Medium Bowl for mixing the ingredients

- Small Saucepan for making caramel sauce

- Roasting pan / or any oven-safe pan bigger than the cake pan to make a water-bath

Procedure

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Heat the sugar in the saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until dissolved and caramel colored. Quickly pour onto bottom of the cake pan ; swirl around bottom and sides to coat .
• Combine milk and sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Pour into prepared cake pan (which already has the caramelized sugar). Place cake pan in the large roasting pan; fill roasting pan with warm water to about 1-inch depth.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove custard from water. Leave in room temperature to cool. Then, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
  
  
  
  TO SERVE: run small spatula around edge of pie plate. Invert serving plate over the custard- pan. Turn over; shake gently to release. Caramelized sugar forms sauce.
  
  
  

Note : The nutrition data listed below is for one serving.