Who doesn’t love this delicious soft and smooth custard covered in a dark amber sauce? Crème caramel is a quite easy and very simple-tasting dessert, because of the slightly bitter caramel that balances the sweetness of the custard. The recipe was introduced by the French and over the years has become part of almost every cuisine worldwide.

Ingredients for the caramel

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Ingredients for the custard

• 5 eggs
• 600 ml Me n’ Mil – natural flavor
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Heat all the caramel ingredients over medium heat in a small saucepan and fill a large bowl with iced water.
2. After 3’-5’, the caramel has turned amber. Take the saucepan off the heat and place the bottom of it into the bowl of iced water for 10’’ to stop the caramel cooking further. Be careful not to splash any iced water into the caramel!
3. Pour or spoon the caramel into small containers and leave to harden.
4. Whisk the eggs in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
5. Combine the Me n’ Mil, sugar, vanilla and salt into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then keep heating until the mixture reaches 70°C. Do not let it boil!
6. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
7. Take the mixture off the heat, add the eggs slowly through a strainer and mix until completely incorporated.
8. Strain the mixture again and pour into the containers. Place a tea towel on your workbench and tap them on it a few times to remove any air bubbles. Cover in aluminum foil to prevent the forming of “hard skin” on the surface of the flan and poke a few holes through it to allow the steam to escape.
9. In a baking tray, lay down a tea towel, put the molds into it and fill the tray half way up the containers with medium-hot tap water, not boiling –it will overcook the flans! Both the tea towel and the bain marie help to control the temperature better.
10. Bake the flan for 35’.
11. Take the molds out of the baking tray, carefully remove the aluminum foil off to avoid condensation building up and release any eggy smell, and let them cool uncovered for 20’ at room temperature.
12. Cover each container with cling wrap and let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours –preferably 1 to 2 days.
13. Once ready to serve, run a knife around the edges to unmold the flan, put a small plate over the container and turn it upside down. The caramel will spill over the custard. Bon appetite!