It is similar to the classic creme caramel or flan. This custard pudding calls for only a few ingredients and is easy to make. No special ingredients or equipment are required. You need sugar and water to make caramel sauce for the pudding. Place sugar and pour water in a small saucepan over medium heat. It is not hard to make, but you must get a few things correctly.
The texture and flavour hang in a delicate balance of three ingredients; eggs, sugar and milk. So it is critical to use the right amount of each ingredient. Eggs make the pudding cake set, the sugar amount decides the firmness of the pudding cake and the fat content of the milk affects the richness of this cake.
To make the caramel sauce for custard pudding. Coat the inner surface of the custard cups with unsalted butter. This will make it easy to remove the pudding from the cups. Put the sugar and water in the pot. Heat the pot at medium heat. Let it sit until the surface becomes lightly-coloured. Swirl the pot and even out the sugar liquid.
Caramelize the sugar, remove the pot from the heat, and quickly add the hot water in 2 to 3 steps with a long-handled ladle. Tilt the pot away from you to avoid hot caramel sauce splashing and burning your hand. Swirl the pot and even out the hot caramel. Pour the caramel evenly into the custard cups. Let’s make the egg mixture for pudding.
Crack the two eggs into a bowl. Lightly beat the egg with a balloon whisk. Don’t let the tip of the whisk leave the bottom of the bowl to avoid creating too much foam. Add the milk and sugar to a pot. Turn on the burner. Stir with a spatula until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add the milk to the beaten egg while whisking the mixture. Sieve the egg mixture with a fine-mesh strainer. Scrape off the bottom of the strainer with a spatula. Remove any foam on the surface with a spoon. Pour the egg mixture into an easy-to-pour container. Gently fill the custard cups with the egg mixture. then cover each cup with aluminium foil.
The foil will prevent the surface from drying and help steam the pudding evenly. Heat water in a pan and gently place the cups in it. There should be enough hot water to cover the bottom half of the cups. Keep the water temperature just below the boiling point and steam the pudding for 18 to 20 minutes.
Do not bring the water to boil otherwise the smooth texture of the pudding will be lost. Put kitchen gloves on and remove the custard cups. When they become cool, store them in the fridge. Let’s serve the custard pudding. Scrape the side of the cup with the tip of a knife. Tap the cup on a kitchen towel and make a space around the pudding. Serve the pudding on a plate.
Ingredients;
- Milk – 2 cup
- Eggs – 3
- Sugar – 1/2 – 3/4 cup + 4 tbsp
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
- Water – 1/8 cup
Instructions;
- Add 1/8 cup water and 4 tbsp sugar to a thick-bottomed vessel. Heat this pan and allow the sugar to melt and caramelize.
- Do not stir, only shake/swirl the vessel. After 8-10 minutes the liquid starts bubbling and turns brown colour.
- When it turns golden brown, remove it from heat and pour it into the ramekin(or any oven-safe /heat-withstanding small bowl)
- Swirl it to spread the caramel syrup evenly on the bottom of the bowls/ramekins
- Whisk together egg and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla essence and milk. Beat and mix well. Pour this over the caramel syrup in ramekin/bowls. It will harden in seconds
- Cover it with foil paper -optional
- Boil water in a wide and deep vessel and keep the ramekins/bowls in it(fill the water up to 1/2+ level of the ramekin- do not allow boiling water to seep into the bowl). Cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes. Take out.
OR - Place the ramekins in an oven-safe pan, partially filled with water. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 F until the centre is firm but wobbly
- Keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hrs or until the time of serving.
- To take it out from the ramekin, run a knife along the sides of the ramekin, and place a dessert plate upside down over the ramekin.
- Holding tightly, invert the ramekin and plate together. Lift the ramekin slowly, slightly shaking to loosen the pudding. Caramel syrup will run down the sides.
