Caramel Custard

Ingredients

• ¾ cup for the caramel sugar
• 3 tbsp for the caramel water
• 6 large eggs
• 5 egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 qt hot milk
• 2 tsp 2 or more teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Caramelizing the dish: Bring the 3/4 cup sugar and the water to a simmer in a small, heavy saucepan; as the boil is reached, remove the pan from the heat and swirl it until the sugar has dissolved completely (be sure it has, or you'll be sorry later when the sugar crystallizes). Set a tight cover on the pan and boil, without stirring, until the syrup is a nice caramel brown.
2. Pour half the caramel into the baking dish; swirl it around the bottom and part way up the side until it stops running. Pour 1/3 cup of water into the caramel pan and simmer to dissolve; set aside as extra sauce.
3. The custard: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the eggs, yolks and sugar in a bowl with a whip (do not beat or make foamy); gradually stir in the hot milk to dissolve the sugar completely. Add the vanilla and salt; pour through a tea strainer into the caramelized dish. Skim any bubbles off the top of the custard.
4. Baking (3/4 to 1 1/4 hours): Set the dish in a pan of boiling water in the lower third of the oven; regulate the heat so the water in the pan never actually boils — too much heat makes custards grainy. It is done when a skewer plunged down an inch from the edge comes out clean; the center should still tremble slightly.
5. Serving: Let settle for 30 minutes or more, then run a thin, sharp knife between the custard and dish; reverse onto a platter. Pour the extra caramel around.

Notes

For an 8-cup baking dish serving 8 to 10 people. The smooth and tender beauty of the carefully cooked caramel custard — for maximum drama, bake it in a high dish (4 inches deep).

Original card

The recipe above was transcribed from this scan of Vera’s original card.

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