Ready, Set, Go!

Set custards and the magic of the ratio

It’s always frustrating when things don’t come in the right size.

One size fits all clothes are a joke (All of what? All of whom?), my big feet make shoe shopping a challenge (I’m sorry Ma’am, those don’t come in your size), and hot dog buns come in packages of eight while the wieners come in packs of 10. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

One thing that often comes in the wrong size is dessert.

Most dessert recipes seem the wrong size. Families have fewer and fewer members and more Canadians live alone than in any other type of household. This means that if you bake a cake, you have a cake. All 8-12 servings of it.

Ok, you can share with the neighbours and have friends over for tea, but let’s be honest, you’re going to eat cake every day until it’s either gone or stale. No matter how delicious it is you’re going to get sick of it and your pants will not thank you.

Custards to the rescue! And one of my favourites is the crème caramel.

Custards are yet another of the French techniques based on assembly of simple staple ingredients, in this case eggs and milk or cream. They can be made savoury or sweet and follow a pretty rock-solid ratio: 2 large eggs for 1 cup (250ml) of milk. You can set a custard with less egg but if you want the kind that can sit up on its own you have to stick to this ratio.

Crème caramel flips crème brûlée on it’s head, literally. Like crème brûlée it’s a set custard, but its caramel sits on the bottom and pours into a gorgeous puddle when flipped. It’s also made with milk whereas crème brûlée is made with more cream. Flan is similar, but its caramel is baked into the custard. Now you know!

And the best part? You can make a handful of these and keep them in the fridge for a few days until you need them. Scale up or down and it’s going to work. You are going to want to do this a day ahead or so to ensure that the caramel on the bottom softens and liquefies, but even if you cut it a little short it will still be delicious.

Remember the ratio and you’ve got this.

The Gear:

• 2 medium pots

• Scale/measuring spoons/cups

• Bowl

• Whisk

• 4 ramekins (around 6 ounces/175ml)

• Baking dish (large enough to hold ramekins without touching)

• Kettle (or another pot)

• Fine strainer/sieve

• Ladle or spoon

The Ingredients:

For the caramel:

• White sugar (1/3 cup or 75 grams)

• Water (1 1/2 tablespoons or 25 ml)

• Lemon juice (2-3 drops)

For the custard:

• Milk (1 1/2 cups or 375 ml)

• dash of vanilla

• 3 eggs

• White sugar (1/2 cup or 100g)

The Technique:

• Set your ramekins on a heat safe surface.

• Fill your sink with 3-4 inches cold water.

• Put the sugar, water, and lemon for the caramel together in a pot over medium-high heat, swirling gently until it reaches the caramel stage. Do not stir. It will boil, then the bubbles will get big, then shrink as the colour turns amber. Pay close attention.

  

• When the colour turns to gold/amber, remove pot from heat and dip the bottom in sink of cold water to stop the caramel from cooking.

• Working quickly, pour a small amount of caramel into each ramekin. It will harden quickly and not completely cover the bottoms. This is okay.

  

• Heat oven to 340F/170C.

• Set kettle or pot to boil with enough water to cover the ramekins to half in the baking dish.

• Bring the milk and vanilla to a simmer over medium heat.

• While the milk is heating, whisk eggs with the 1/2 cup sugar.

  

• As soon as the milk is at a fast simmer, pour it into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking quickly.

  

• Once all the milk is incorporated, strain the mixture through the sieve into a clean pot or a measuring cup with a spout.

• Skim off any excess foam with your ladle.

  

• Place ramekins in the baking dish and fill with egg and milk mixture. You will still have some bubbles, but don’t overthink it.

• Fill the baking dish with hot water from the kettle halfway up the sides. You might find it easier to do this directly on the oven rack.

  

• Cook until the custards no longer ripple in the middle and/or the tip of a knife inserted an inch from the centre comes out clean (about 30 minutes)

• Remove pan from oven and carefully remove custards from water bath. Allow to cool uncovered at least 2 hours.

• Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

  

• Run a thin knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto a plate. Garnish as it pleases you, or enjoy as is.

Crème caramel are beautiful in their simplicity. And as I mentioned above, they are completely adaptable to something savoury too. Simmer some vegetables (like squash or red pepper) in milk or cream, blend, strain, and cook with the same ratio of eggs and you’ll have yourself a really interesting appetizer or side for your next dinner party. No caramel topping is needed, but I assure you that no one else is making anything as old school as a vegetable custard.

Custard can seem intimidating at first, but it’s more forgiving than you think. Master a technique like this and you’ll find your only limit is your imagination.