Crème Caramel is one of the oldest and most classic french desserts. It is made mainly with milk, cream and eggs. It also has served with different names such as flan.
Preheat the water in a saucepan and add sugar to it. Stir the mixture until the sugar turns brown.
¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup water, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Then add lemon juice to it and keep stirring the mixture. It is suggested to turn off the heat when you notice that the mixture starts to bubble.
Spill the caramel sauce into the crème caramel baking dish or ramekins. Tilt the dish so that the caramel fills the rim.
Making the pudding
Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
Whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and salt together in a mixing dish. Add the sugar to the mixture and keep whisking until it attains homogeneity and consistency.
In a saucepan, heat the milk and heavy cream over medium heat (don't let it boil).
2 cups fresh whole milk, ⅔ cup heavy cream
Pour the milk over the egg mixture and stir until homogenized. Pour the mixture over the caramel into the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for half an hour, then chill in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
Run a sharp knife around the sides of the dish and place a serving dish on the top of it. Then hold both well, and then flip it upside down.
Notes
If the caramel sticks to the bottom of the pan after flipping the flan, pour hot water over the pan to soften it.
Make sure the color of caramel syrup is neither too dark nor too light. The dark-colored caramel syrup symbolizes bitterness, whereas the light-colored caramel symbolizes tastelessness.
Try to refrigerate your crème caramel at least for a day. It will provide a fluffy texture allowing room for the perfect topping. Recipe Variations
You can use egg whites instead of the whole egg and flavor it with cinnamon sticks. This practice is very common in Cuba. Consequently, this variation is also known as ‘’Cuban flan’’.
You can also bake it without eggs. Eggless flan is mostly prepared by South Indians.