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!

Happy Crêpes Suzette Day!

Ah, national food holidays. How else would we know that we're craving hamburgers unless we can be reminded that May is National Hamburger Month. Well, today, May 6, just so happens to be National Crêpes Suzette Day and International No Diet Day as well. We're pretty sure that means that you're owed some serious indulging and the more French your treat, the better. 

Crêpes Suzette are a delightful way to feed your sweet tooth consisting of (you guessed it) a crêpe served with Beurre Suzette, which is a heavenly sauce made from butter, caramelized sugar, orange juice and zest, and a flambéed orange liqueur. They're not just good, they're plate-licking good. 

If you feel like trying your hand at whipping up a batch for dessert (or even for dinner), try this recipe for Crêpes Suzette au Beurre d'Orange from Food Network. 

Ingredients

13 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour

1 large pinch salt

1 3/4 cups milk, plus 1 3/4 cups

4 eggs

10 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Orange butter, recipe follows

Zest, recipe follows

Directions

In a big bowl, mix the flour, salt, and 1 3/4 cups milk, in that order. Whisk vigorously by hand until it is the consistency of heavy cream. Break eggs and fold them in with a whisk. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of the milk to the melted butter and pour into the mixture. Continue mixing the batter until it becomes shiny and smooth. Finally sieve the batter to get rid of any lumps. Leave to rest for 2 to 3 hours.

Dip a piece of kitchen paper in vegetable oil and grease a small frying pan. Ladle a spoonful of batter into the pan. With a flick of the wrist swivel the pan in order to get a nice even covering all over. A good crepe should be paper- thin. Cook on a high heat and flip it over when you see the edge turning golden brown. Remove crepes from pan and keep aside in a warm place.

Orange Butter:

18 ounces unsalted butter

12 ounces caster sugar

12 oranges, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1 big splash Grand Marnier

Melt the butter in a big saucepan on a high heat. Add the sugar and cook for about 10 minutes until it caramelizes. It should be a golden color.

Combine the lemon with the orange juice and pour it in when the caramel is bubbling. Be careful not to burn the butter or yourself. Add Grand Marnier and continue whisking as the mixture curdles a little and let it cook for 10 minutes to reduce. Finally mix with an electric hand-mixer to ensure that the butter is fully integrated.

Fold the crepes in 4 and put them into a deep frying pan. Spoon in enough orange butter to barely cover them and, on a high heat, reduce the liquid, turning the crepes over to make sure that they absorb the orange butter.

To serve, place the crepes on a dessert plate. Spoon the orange butter over them and garnish with a sprinkling of the zest.

Zest:

3 oranges

4 teaspoons syrup (made by boiling 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan)

Peel the zest from the oranges and cut it very thinly. Blanch in boiling water 3 times and drain it to remove the bitterness. Put the zests in a saucepan with the syrup. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes

However, If you don't feel like going to all that trouble just to get your sugar fix, we can help. Even though we don't have Crêpe Suzette on our Dessert Menu at this time, we do have plenty of other delectable indulgences that can certainly help you swear off that diet, even if just for today! 

Have a happy National Crêpes Suzette Day and International No Diet Day!