Crème Caramel

We get to celebrate another fabulous food holiday on October 3 this week, National Caramel Custard Day! While that should be enough to pique your sweet tooth, we thought we would go one step further and devote a whole blog post to the French version of Caramel Custard, Crème Caramel.

Crème Caramel (commonly known as Caramel Custard or Flan) is a custard-based dessert topped with a layer of soft caramel. Crème Caramel remains a dessert staple in many European restaurants due to its ability to be prepared in advance. This doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to prepare, as both making the custard to the ideal consistency as well as preserving its integrity and keeping it from splitting takes care.

Composed of sugar, milk, cream, eggs, salt, and vanilla, the standard recipe for Crème Caramel involves making the caramel for the bottom of each custard cup. Then, one whips up the custard base and pours it over the caramel before baking the whole thing in a hot water bath. The final step involves inverting the cooled custard onto a serving plate at which point the liquid caramel tops the custard and drizzles down the sides.

A version of Crème Caramel is served throughout the world, with different regions "spicing" up their versions to accommodate local tastes and preferences. In Latin America, Crème Caramel may be enjoyed with Dulce de Leche, and in the Caribbean, different localities add things like cinnamon and coconut milk to their renditions. Additionally, in some parts of southern Vietnam, a black coffee is poured over the top of the dessert prior to serving. In fact, the only continent that doesn't have their own versions of Crème Caramel is Antarctica!

So, no matter where you're enjoying it or how you take your Crème Caramel, Happy Caramel Custard Day and bon appétit!