Recipes: creme caramel

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Make the caramel by adding the sugar and water to a pan. Use a light coloured pan so that you can see the colour of your caramel develop. Heat on high and do not stir. Gently swirl the pan from time to time to disperse any dark spots forming. Your caramel is ready when it turns dark brown. Immediately pour into the bottom of your ramekins.

We used 12 x125mL capacity ramekins for this recipe.

3. Add eggs, egg yolks, condensed milk, vanilla and salt into a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
4. Heat fresh milk and coffee into a small pot to warm through (do not boil). Slowly pour this mix into your egg mix, whisking the egg mix as you pour. Pass this thin custard mix through a fine sieve into a pouring jug. Use a spoon to remove/pop any air bubbles.

Pour custard into the ramekins (not all the way to the top) and cover each ramekin with foil. Pierce holes in the foil to allow steam to escape.

5. Place prepared ramekins into a deep baking pan. Pour hot water into the baking pan until it reaches half way up the sides of your ramekins. Bake for 25-30mins or until the custard has just set. If unsure, insert a toothpick into the centre of one flan. If it comes out clean, the flan is cooked.
6. Take ramekins out of the baking pan and remove foil. Allow to cool on the bench top (about 30 mins) before moving them into the fridge. Allow your flans to set and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before turning out.
7. To serve, run a knife around the edge of each flan before inverting onto a plate.