Photo: Julian Kingma / Styling: Maxwell Adey
“Crème caramel is a home-made dessert in France, passed on by mothers,” says chef Geruad Fabre. “Although my mother was a talented cook, I learned this recipe as an apprentice in Bordeaux at Le Chapon Fin.”
Ingredients
Method
Bring milk, vanilla bean and seeds, and lemon zest to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stand to infuse (30 minutes).
Meanwhile, for caramel, scatter sugar evenly over base of a saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, swirling pan occassionally, until sugar dissolves (3-4 minutes), then swirl pan until a dark caramel forms (3-4 minutes). Remove from heat; carefully add 3 tsp water (hot caramel will spit) and swirl to combine. Divide among four, 9cm diameter, 375ml ceramic ramekins and swirl each quickly to coat to the edges. Transfer ramekins to refrigerator to set (30 minutes).
Strain custard into a large jug. Skim any air bubbles that have formed and pour into caramel-lined moulds. Place in a roasting pan lined with a tea towel, then fill pan with warm water to halfway up sides of moulds. Cover with foil and bake until custard is just set with a slight wobble in the centre (35-40 minutes). Remove from water bath and set aside to cool completely, gently releasing the sides of the custard with a wet finger once or twice as it cools, then refrigerate to chill (6 hours).
Run a sharp knife around edges of custards to release, then invert onto chilled serving plates. Scattter with mint to serve.
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