Crème caramel? Bon appétit!
- Crème caramel is a European dessert known worldwide, and is made primarily of custard and caramel.
- ‘Crème caramel’ is also known as ‘crema caramella’, ‘flan’, ‘crème renversée’, and ‘caramel pudding’.
- Typically, to make crème caramel, sugar syrup is made and poured into a ramekin or other container, which is topped with an egg and milk-based custard, and then cooked in an oven in a water bath.
- ‘Crème caramel’, when translated from French, literally means ‘caramel cream’, and the dessert is often prepared with cream, in addition to the milk.
- Although very similar to crème brûlée, crème caramel is not the same, with the primary difference being the latter’s caramel’s softness compared to the former’s hard layer of caramel.
Crème Caramel
Image courtesy of L.A. Foodie/Flickr
- Crème caramel is best presented cold, so it is usually refrigerated once cooked and cooled, and then flipped out of the container and presented on a plate with the caramel syrup sitting on top.
- Fruit, mint, chocolate, or other sauces can be used to garnish crème caramel desserts, and vanilla is often used to flavour the custard mixture during preparation.
- Crème caramel was popularised by restaurants in the late 1900s due to its relative ease to make and store.
- While crème caramel is thought by many to be a French dessert, the country of its origin is disputable, and Spain and England also suggest that the dessert originated in their own country.
- Crème caramel is especially popular after a hot main meal; and variations of the dessert are made in different countries.
Bibliography:
All Time Classic Crème Caramel, n.d, Culinary Flavors, http://culinaryflavors.gr/2014/10/all-time-classic-creme-caramel/
Crème Caramel, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_caramel
What is Crème Caramel?, 2015, wiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-crme-caramel.htm
