Crème caramel
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 4.
2. Beat the egg yolks and eggs in a large bowl, add the rest of the crème ingredients and stir to combine.
3. To make the caramel, sprinkle the sugar evenly into the bottom of a saucepan, along with the water, and leave to sit over a low heat without stirring.
4. After about 5 minutes the edges will start to turn to liquid and bubble, but leave it and resist any urge to stir. After about 12 minutes, 25% of the sugar will start to brown, so shake and swivel the pan and wait a further few minutes until it is mostly liquid and golden.
5. Turn off the heat and continue to swivel until all the sugar has caramelised and become a rich golden colour.
6. Quickly pour a thin layer of caramel into a pie dish – just enough to cover the bottom. Swirl it round very quickly (as it will harden) to coat the base, with some of it up the sides a little, and leave it a few minutes to set.
7. Tap with a spoon to check for hardness.
8. Place the pie dish in a deep roasting tin. Pour the crème mixture into the pie dish then fill the tray halfway with boiling water to form a bain-marie.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Gently jiggle the dish. The crème caramel should wobble evenly when cooked. Once set, remove it from the oven, leave to cool, then refrigerate.
10. Loosen it by running a knife around the edges. Place a serving plate over the dish and turn it upside down. Tap out or shake it once for the baked dessert to shift on to the plate. The caramel should drizzle down the sides. ok!
SERVES 6-8 INGREDIENTS
For the crème
● 2 egg yolks
● 4 eggs
● 120ml double cream
● 200g condensed milk
● 250ml milk
● 1½ tsp vanilla extract
For the caramel
● 110g caster sugar
● 2 tbsp water