Crème caramel
Crème caramel (upside-down caramel cream) is a classic of bistro cuisine. The vanilla cream is made with eggs, cooked in a dish with a layer of caramel in the bottom, and placed in a bain-marie. It's traditionally served turned out so that the liquid caramel runs down over the cream.
265 K 4.1/5 (22 reviews)
3 hours 35 min.
Easy
8 people
5 IngredientsLast modified on: February 21th 2011
For 8 people, you will need:
- 1
150 g caster sugar - 2
1 litre Milk - 3
1 vanilla pod - 4 200 g caster sugar
- 5
6 eggs - Total weight: 1,655 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 45 min.
Resting: 2 hours 10 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 3 hours 35 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 15 min.
Prepare a light caramel with 150 g caster sugar.
Please note: It's important that the caramel should be light and not dark as it will continue cooking during the rest of the process, and so risk becoming overcooked and bitter.
Please note: It's important that the caramel should be light and not dark as it will continue cooking during the rest of the process, and so risk becoming overcooked and bitter.
Stage 2 - 2 min.
Pour a little liquid caramel into the bottom of a ramekin...
Stage 3 - 1 min.
... and turn the ramekin so that the caramel coats the base and sides. Pour any excess back into the pan (don't worry for now if there are dribbles around the top of the dish).
Warning: This is a tricky moment, and liquid caramel is burning hot and very dangerous. It is wise to keep young children well clear, and to protect your hands with oven gloves while handling the ramekins (not like I am doing in the photos).
Warning: This is a tricky moment, and liquid caramel is burning hot and very dangerous. It is wise to keep young children well clear, and to protect your hands with oven gloves while handling the ramekins (not like I am doing in the photos).
Stage 4 - 10 min.
Do this with all the ramekins.
Stage 5 - 10 min.
Pour 1 litre Milk into a pan with 1 vanilla pod, scraped to remove the small black seeds inside, and bring to the boil over medium heat.
Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F), and boil a kettle (or large pan) of water.
Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F), and boil a kettle (or large pan) of water.
Stage 6 - 5 min.
Meanwhile pour 200 g caster sugar into a bowl and add 6 eggs. Mix well with a maryse.
Pour the boiling milk over, and beat to mix.
Pour the boiling milk over, and beat to mix.
Stage 7 - 10 min.
Pour the mixture through a strainer, preferably over a high-sided container, to remove the bits of vanilla pod.
Leave to rest 10 minutes, then skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Leave to rest 10 minutes, then skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Stage 8 - 40 min.
Place the ramekins in a large, deep baking sheet, then fill them with cream and put in the oven. Pour boiling water into the tray, then close the oven door and leave to cook around 40 minutes.
Stage 9 - 2 hours
Check that the creams are cooked, like testing a cake, then remove from the oven and leave at least an hour to cool to room temperature.
Then refrigerate overnight.
Then refrigerate overnight.
Stage 10
Serve by turning out onto dessert plates or dishes. Overnight the caramel will have liquified, and will now run down over the cream.
Remove from the fridge an hour before serving if possible so that the cream is not too cold.
Remove from the fridge an hour before serving if possible so that the cream is not too cold.
Remarks
You will notice that this cream uses whole eggs. This makes it firmer than the cream used for crème brulée for example, so that it can be turned out easily.
If you make this dessert for your children or grandchildren, you'll find there's no more talk of desserts from packet mixes.
If you make this dessert for your children or grandchildren, you'll find there's no more talk of desserts from packet mixes.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered by a plastic film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 90 RDI=30 % | 390 RDI=40 % | 80 RDI=10 % | 2,630 RDI=130 % | 11,010 RDI: 130 % |
| Per 100 g | 5 RDI=2 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 4 RDI=1 % | 160 RDI=8 % | 670 RDI: 8 % |
| Per person | 10 RDI=4 % | 50 RDI=5 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 330 RDI=20 % | 1,380 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 8 people : 4.80 €
- Per person : 0.60 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Milk
Like these other recipes: Nantes Tourton, Loaf for "les filles'", Choux pastry (pâte à choux), Old style brioche, Liège waffles, ... See them all 60
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Quick orange marmalade, Blackcurrant, vanilla and lime verrine , Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard , Sautéed pears with custard and orange syrup , Pear and strawberry verrine with tiramisu cream, ... See them all 360
Egg
Like these other recipes: Hamburger buns, Oatmeal and chocolate shortbread, Amandier (gluten-free almond cake), Baked eggs with chicken and spinach, Four quarters, ... See them all 236
Vanilla pod
Like these other recipes: Apricot jam with vanilla, Vanilla ice cream, Lemon Confectioner's Custard, Paris flan filling, Panettone, ... See them all 35
Other recipes you may also like
Chocolate cream with a crunch, irish coffee mousse
This is a chocolate cream with chopped candied grapefruit peel and caramelized nuts added to give bit of crunch. The small pot of cream is topped with an Irish coffee mousse (flavours of coffee, fresh cream, sugar and whisky).March 11th 2011261 K 15 60 min.
How to cook red meat properly
Cooking red meat well is not as simple as it might seem. Even if you start with high quality meat, with poor cooking it can become dry and tough. Here's a way that will guarantee you a perfect result.October 13th 2010476 K2.7 1 hour 25 min.
Fillet of pollack cooked in two stages
This pollack fillet is cooked in two stages: first pan-fried briefly to seal it and colour the outside, then baked gently in the oven in a parcel (en papillotte) on a bed of melting onions, julienne carrots and peas. This double cooking will give you a fish that's lightly crisped on the outside and...January 23th 2011183 K4.7 1 hour 40 min.
Escalope of veal in a cream sauce
Escalopes of veal, mushrooms and a cream sauce.May 10th 2023260 K4.6 1 hour 3 min.
How to prepare cockles
Cockles are small Atlantic shellfish which can be used in many delicious dishes. However, they need to be prepared with care before cooking. Here is a simple way to do this.March 13th 2013549 K 13.7 1 hour 55 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-06-08)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.