Crème Caramel With Poached Quince
Alright, it’s bake along time and this week it’s dessert week. I’m keeping things simple this week with some vanilla creme caramels served with poached quince, really these are lovely served with any fruit, roasted plums are one of my favourites, but I found some quince in my local green grocer and having never used them before I thought now would be the perfect opportunity!
Ingredients - Makes 8
Crème caramel
100g caster sugar - for the caramel
350ml whole milk
1/2 vanilla pod or 1tsp vanilla extract
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
120g caster sugar
150g creme fraiche
pinch of salt
Poached Quince
2 quince
400ml water
250g caster sugar
Start by poaching the quince, bring the sugar and water to the boil in a small pan. Peel, core and slice each quince into 8 pieces, add to the sugar syrup, reduce the heat to just below boiling and leave to poach for an hour and a half. As it cooks the quince will change colour to a deep, vibrant red and get softer and sweeter. When it’s ready remove from the heat and set aside.
Next, make the caramel. Place the 80g of caster sugar directly into a pan on medium heat, cook until the bottom layer of the sugar starts to caramelise, stir and continue to cook until there are no sugar crystals left. Cook until the caramel reaches a rich amber, all of the flavour is coming from this caramel so don’t be afraid to let it get quite dark! Once you’re happy with the colour divide between the moulds, just enough to cover the base.
Next, pre-heat your oven to 140°C and boil a full kettle In the same pan bring the milk and vanilla pod to the boil, one boiling turn off the heat and allow the vanilla to infuse. Weigh the sugar, eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk, slowly pour the warm milk and vanilla over while whisking. Once all of the milk is incorporated, add the creme fraiche, it’ll go really lumpy but don’t worry, just keep whisking! Sieve the mix into a jug and divide between your ramekins, I weighed mine at 90g each for consistency, put your ramekins into a deep baking dish and half fill the dish with freshly boiled water, this regulates the temperature and ensures that you get lovely smooth crème caramels. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 140°C until they’re set with a slight jiggle, see gif below!
Once out of the oven, chill the crème caramels for at least 2 hours before de-moulding. To get them out of the ramekins run a very thin, sharp knife around the edge and turn them out onto a plate, you might need to give them a bit of a wiggle to release them! Serve with the poached quince and some of the poaching syrup. If you have any leftover poaching syrup try adding it to cocktails or even just enjoy with sparkling water!
