This somewhat old fashioned French dessert is nevertheless loved by many. Growing up, my brother and I would sit at our Granny’s tiny kitchen island, opening and closing the doors of the pass-through while we chatted away, scooching our stools forward every now and then so Granny could grab something from the cupboard. Most of the time it was breakfast only at the island, with all of our other meals sat round the table in the front room, but every now and then we’d get a creme caramel in the kitchen.

They’d come in those crackly, brown-tinted plastic pots that you had to squeeze and tap and shake upside down until suddenly, the entire thing would fly out of the container and wobble onto the plate, covered in sweet vanilla syrup. We’d always compare to see whose was most in tact after the landing.

Those little pots are as nostalgic as it gets for me - in fact I don’t think I’ve eaten one since those childhood years at my Granny & Papa’s house. My Granny sadly died at the beginning of this year, and those sweet, syrupy memories have been on my mind, so I decided I’d have a go at making my own.

I’d stumbled across this recipe from an image on Pinterest and one line stood out to me:

“Now I can make Crème Caramel that does justice to my grandmother, and so can you.”

It seems that this nostalgic recipe connects many people to their loved ones and I think there lies the true beauty of food. I can sit in my east London flat, 15 or so years since I last had a creme caramel in that little kitchen, and yet with one mouthful, I’m back with my Granny, scooching my stool in so she can grab something from the cupboard.

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did.

Scroll down to see the final images from the shoot.

This recipe is inspired by and reshared from the Herriott Grace blog and the full link to the recipe is here.

From my understanding, the creme caramel recipe in the blog post is reprinted from FRENCH COUNTRY COOKING Meals and Moments from A Village In The Vineyards by Mimi Thorisson. Clarkson Potter Publishers, NYC, 2016.

FOR THE CARAMEL
1 cup / 200 g sugar

FOR THE CUSTARD
1 cup / 240 ml double cream
1 cup / 240 ml whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of fine sea salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup / 50 g caster sugar

1. Have ready an 8-inch / 20 cm fluted brioche mold or other decorative ovenproof mold.

2. MAKE THE CARAMEL. In a medium saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat without stirring. Once the sugar has dissolved, boil until the color turns uniformly dark amber. Remove immediately from the heat and carefully pour it into the mold. Swirl the mold in a circular motion so the caramel coats the entire bottom. Once the caramel is cool, butter the sides of the pan (this will facilitate the unmolding later).

3. Preheat the oven to 300˚F / 150˚C. Bring a kettle of water to the boil.

4. MAKE THE CUSTARD. In a large saucepan, combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds, lemon zest, and salt over medium heat until hot but not boiling.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. When the milk is hot but not boiling, discard the vanilla pod and slowly whisk the liquid into the egg mixture. Gently pour mixture into the mold.

6. Set the mold in a roasting pan or deep baking dish. Gently pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Bake until the custard is set in the centre, about 50 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until cooled.

7. To serve, gently loosen the sides of the custard with a butter knife. Invert a rimmed serving dish (make sure it is deep enough to hold the caramel sauce) on top and gently turn everything upside down. Remove the mold. Serve each portion with a few spoons of caramel sauce.