By: Valerie
Custards, Puddings and Soufflés, , ,

Sesame Honey Crème Caramel

Yield: one 8-inch crème caramel
Recipe: 161/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 196

    The long weekend gave me the motivation to try a new recipe from the cookbook. I opted for the sesame honey crème caramel as I was intrigued by the flavour profile of this crème caramel and was thus keen to try it. The recipe was straight-forward enough to make, although there was a mishap when it was time to pour the milk mixture in the dish. I had only ever seen round crème caramel so without thinking I used an 8-inch round cake pan. Of course this was not the correct pan as this round pan is considerably smaller than the recommended baking dish and so I was left with a lot of the mixture. I was very confused by this until I realized my mistake. Please do not make my mistake and ensure that you are using a square baking dish (these are commonly glass).

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 6 eggs
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 1½ teaspoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

    Because I used the wrong size and shape of baking dish, my crème caramel did not bake as expected and in fact took much longer to bake than normal, so I can’t comment on the actual recommended time of baking. One would assume it to be correct. In all honestly making custards is not my forte because I am never quite sure when the inner jiggle is indicative of a perfectly-timed baked. I am always worried of underbaking it which would make the dessert too liquid and unappetizing, that as a result I tend to overbake my custard desserts. This one, however, even with the weird cake pan dish and long bake time, resulted in a pretty good texture upon flipping it over. In hindsight I could have cooked the caramel a bit longer for a darker colour on the top, but I think it still looked alright. The flan tasted good, more honey-forward than sesame, but it was a pleasant texture. I recommend this dessert if you enjoy flans and more sweet custards.

Directions:

  1. Preheat over to 350°F.
  2. In a saucepot, bring the sugar, cream of tartar and water to a boil. Boil over high heat without stirring and occasionally brushing the sides of the pot with water until the sugar caramelizes, about 3 minutes. Carefully pour the hot sugar into an 8-inch square baking dish and swirl to coat the bottom of the dish. After the sugar has cooled, lightly grease the surface of the dish that is not coated with sugar and place the dish into a larger pan, with sides that come up at least to the height of the baking dish.
  3. In a medium saucepot, heat the milk with the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean until the milk is just below a simmer.
    • Note: I did not have a vanilla bean on hand, so used one tablespoon of vanilla extract instead. This substitute seems to have worked well.
  4. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and honey together to blend, then slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously.
  5. Whisk in the sesame oil and pour the custard into the baking dish. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the surface of the custard.
    • Note: the sesame oil will float to the top of the custard.
  6. Pour boiling water around the baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the custard is set around the outside but still has a jiggle to the middle when moved. Let the custard cool in the water bath for 15 minutes, then remove to cool to room temperature before chilling completely, about 4 hours.
  7. To plate and serve, run a knife around the inside edge of the baking dish. Place a large platter with a lip over the dish and quickly invert and lift off the baking dish. Spoon or cut to serve. The custard will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
    • Note: About ½ cup of caramel liquid will also come out with the custard as you flip it.

Happy baking!
Valerie