I bake - Orange scented crème caramel

I have been playing with crème caramel for the past month. I think this is it. To create a silky, smooth and pleasantly rich texture a crème caramel should have, I have worked out the required portion of cream vs milk, baking time and temperature to create crème I like. Another question that was bugging all the time was how much sugar I need to create the caramel for my ramekins. Instead of using cups or grams measure, I use tablespoon per ramekin as a guide. The unit of sugar should be enough to cover the base of your ramekin completely, not just barely. For my ramekins which are of regular size (9.5cm in diameter and 5.5cm in height), it works out one tablespoon of sugar which is sufficient to create the caramel to coat the bottom of a ramekin.

The flavor of crème caramel I came across by chance and now love is by Simon Hopkinson. The combination of orange and caramel works wonder in my mouth. If you are a traditionalist, just skip orange and up the vanilla.

Orange scented crème caramel

For caramel
- 6 tbsps caster sugar (I use one tbsp of sugar per ramekin as a guide)
- 1 tbsp water

For orange scented crème
- 5 eggs
- 1 1/2 milk and 1/2 cup double cream (the total liquid is 2 cups or 500ml which is 100ml per egg)
- zest from one orange
- 2 tbsps caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

You need six ramekins for this recipe.

First, prepare the orange scented milk. Put milk, cream, orange zest, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a pot. Bring it to simmer (when tiny bubbles start to rise from the edges). Turn off the heat. Put the lid on. Let the scenting process begin. The original recipe suggests steeping for at least one hour and I dully oblige.

While that is happening, prepare caramel. Put the sugar into a heavy-based saucepan and add 1 tablespoon of cold water. Bring to an animated boil and watch carefully until the sugar has turned to light to medium amber color with a pleasing smell of, well, caramel. Swirl the pan when necessary if caramelization does not happen evenly. Once it's done, immediately pour into six ramekins. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 150C and put your kettle on for some hot water.

Beat the eggs lightly in a roomy bowl. Strain the orange-infused milk into the eggs. Gently beat the mixture together until well combined. Strain the custard mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.

Ladle the mixture into the caramel-lined ramekins. Place them into a deep roasting tin and fill with hot (not boiling) water, so that it rises up the outside of the molds by about three-quarters of the way up. Carefully place the tin into the oven. Bake in the oven until the custards are just set (about 35-40 minutes).

How do you know when it's done? You could give them a little shake; they should gently wobble in a regular pattern. That means custard is set. Under-set custard will jiggle in an irregular way.

Remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let them cool completely in room temperature. Cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a day before consumption.