Ginger Crème Caramel

[maddeinin]

I'd never made crème caramel before, so I don't know if the caramel is supposed to solidify as much as it did when poured into the ramekins. I was convinced there'd be no caramel to my crème, at least without the help of a chisel, but miraculously most of it had turned runny by the time I inverted them about twelve hours later. Anyway, I'll be more

Comments

[maddeinin]

Well, I thought it looked pretty fabulous, too, and tasted just as good. :)

But I wish one of the 500 or so recipes I skimmed before, er, making up my own had said "will turn hard as brick - not to worry!!! it'll melt again!" or something, because I spent most of Sunday morning wondering how to save it if it didn't work.

[maddeinin]

Oh, that's good to know. None of the recipes I read before making it said anything about it melting again, so there were some worries between last night and lunchtime today. But if that's how it always goes I won't need to worry next time, thanks!

[a_boleyn]

I've made creme caramel often cause my bruleeing (under the broiler) is hit and miss. It was perfect the first time I made it, a clear case of beginner's luck, and then varied from burned black to underdone and grainy ever since. The last time I made it, I used chopped pistachios steeped in the creme mixture and then left them in cause I wasn't sure I'd have enough pistachio flavour. Great but crunchy which kind of defeats the purpose of a creme caramel's texture.

As to the caramel sticking to the bottom of the ramekins, try dipping the bottoms in a shallow dish of boiling hot water for 15-30 sec. Some will still to the bottom but more will liquify. :)

[maddeinin]

I have one of those blowtorch thingies. It scares me. Also I always manage to burn the sugar in places, while in others it never melts properly at all. So now I'm giving up on making my own brûlées in favor of caramels, even though that crunchy thing that happens with a proper crème brûlée is pretty much the best thing ever. There's always eating out...

[a_boleyn]

I read somewhere that you can make the caramel and the pour some on top of the cooked custard and it will solidify "kind of" like a brulee topping. Or, that you can pour it over a parchment paper lining, into a buttered ring that's the size of the ramekin. Then, lay that circle of caramel over the custard. Not quite like the real thing but interesting.

A real creme brulee can't be beat though and after my first trial and success, I was so encouraged that I kept trying to do it again, even with all the failures, til I finally gave up. :(

[product_junkie]

I love my kitchen torch. I use it fairly often, even to like, melt cheese on nachos.

I think the trick is to keep the flame moving. I make lots of little circles all over the surface of whatever I'm trying to melt/caramelize.

[amberbaka]

Well, there is a flan tag, which is more or less the same thing as a creme caramel.

But that looks absolutely yummy.

[product_junkie]

that was going to be my question -- what is the difference, exactly?

[amberbaka]

Answer: Not a thing! :D

"In the US, and in Spanish, flan is a crème caramel."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flan

[donchep]

Isn't it just the French being well *french* and not using someone else's name for something. I mean geez louise, isn't just easier to say flan? :)

[meetzemonsta]

mods, how about a crème caramel or baked custard tag?

Ask and ye shall receive! ;)