Disclaimer: No caramel was hurt in the making of this Cheats Crème Caramel.
You know how they say cheating is bad? Well, I propose that there’s a GOOD kind of cheating – the one where you can skip a whole step in baking to get to the deliciousness THAT much faster. Take crème caramel, for example. It’s so easy to make BUT waiting an entire day for the hard caramel to turn into a delicious sauce so you can eat it is absolute torture. So… what if you could cut out making the caramel for your créme caramel?
I know what your thinking, “Caramel-less cheats crème caramel? You barbarian.”
As you may know, the traditional crème caramel has a hard caramel set in the base of the mould – the custard is then poured on top and baked. After an overnight stint in the fridge, the caramel becomes a sauce which creates a golden brown waterfall once unmoulded. If you’re using refined white sugar, you NEED to caramelize it in order to get some flavour out of it BUT fortunately for us, these days we have an amazing range of dark and delicious unrefined sugars such as dark muscovado sugar. This is the ‘cheat’ in cheats crème caramel!
So, ditch the old-fashioned caramel and get yourself a bag of muscovado because we’re about to make magic happen. The beauty of this Cheats Crème Caramel is that you literally just have to scoop the sugar into the moulds. No caramelising, no crystals forming or third-degree burns.
This Cheats Crème Caramel is hands down the best crème caramel I have ever had in my life and I probably ate like 3 of them all on my own. Give it a try and you’ll never make crème caramel the traditional way ever again!
- 115g Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 140g Natura Golden Caster Sugar
- 15ml vanilla extract
- 375ml full cream milk
- 375ml pouring cream
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees for fan-forced) and make sure the oven rack is positioned on the lower third of the oven.
- Lightly grease 10 small dariole moulds or ramekins with cooking spray and equally divide the Natura Sugars Dark Muscovado between them.
- Compact the sugar in the base of the mould by using a smaller cup or a teaspoon. Place the moulds in a deep roasting tray, ensuring there’s enough room between each of the moulds.
- Combine the eggs, Natura Sugars Golden Caster and vanilla extract. Gently heat up the milk and cream in a small pot over a medium heat until it just starts to boil. Immediately remove from the heat.
- While whisking, gradually pour the milk/cream mix into the egg mixture.
- Strain the mixture into a pouring jug and pour it into the prepared moulds. Don’t worry if any sugar begins to float, it will eventually sink.
- Place the creme caramels in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the tray to reach halfway up the sides of the caramels. Bake for 25 minutes or until just set with a slight wobble in the middle. It should look like jelly!
- Allow to cool before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve, run a thin knife along the edges of the moulds and invert onto a plate. The caramels will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Make sure you don't over-bake it, the custard must still have a noticeable wobble.
