Creme Caramel

From Scratch....

We all have had a few ready from the packet desserts or instant desserts stocked in our pantries, likr always. I know i have....from the time i can recall, my mom always had a shelf full of assorted jellos,custard powder, caramel custard, and dream whip packets in her kitchen cabinet (i mean who doesn't), these were the first desserts i learned to make. and what is there to lean really, just boil a the given amount of milk or water (as the packet says). dissolve all ingredients in the packet and pour into bowl and voila..your dessert for the day is ready.

But as i grew older, i always had this curiosity to try these same desserts from scratch, yeah i know some people just find that painstaking, but I say why not...

So over the years 

• I Have tried whipping my own cream, and after trying it have realised whipped cream powder is better and quicker,especially with the quality of cream that we get here (only 25% fat, takes a really long time to whip). An even better option i discovered is to dissolve your whipped cream powder in the single pouring cream available, instead of milk or water.it gives a real nice and thick whipped cream within minutes!!!
• I have tried making my own jelly with fruit juice and gelatin...and that didn't turn out too bad...infact i prefer that to all the artificial coloring and fruit flavors...why not have the real thing.
• Custard, well i still think i like my eggless custard powder better
• And creme caramel...yes I finally tried it. I've been wanting to try it since a long time and so i finally did. (plus i had a few extra yolks i wanted to use up instead of throwing them away after i made some garlic sauce)

i used this recipe i saw on donna hay's website, but made a few adjustments to fit my two yolks...you can make the same recipe even without the yolks, what i normally do for substituting yolks in any recipe is to - use 1 egg instead of every two yolks, works fine all the time as i usually don't like using only yolks.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup (120g) caster (superfine) sugar

⅓ cup (80ml) water

400ml milk

2 tbsp custard powder

3 eggs

2 egg yolks, extra

1/4 cup caster sugar, extra

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 150°C . Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil and and cook for 8–10 minutes or until the mixture is dark golden. Pour into 4  - 5 ovenproof dishes, or you can even use just one big dish if you want. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the caramel is set.
Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to the boil. add custard powder dissolved in a little cold milk, and cook for another minute.Remove from heat.
Place the eggs, extra yolks, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Gradually add the milk mixture, whisking to combine. Strain the mixture and pour into the dishes. Place dishes in a roasting pan or cake tin lined with a dish towel(prevents the dishes from slipping) and pour boiling water around the sides till it comes halfway up the the dishes. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until set. Remove from the dish and refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold. Remove the crème caramels from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Turn out onto plates to serve.

creamy delights ..