I make - Sharing Crème Caramel

I love creme caramel, the simple concoction of milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Infinitely adaptable and unfailingly comforting every time. Preferably I like to make them in individual ramekins, but I don't always have the space in the fridge. Hence, the sharing version. Just one bakeware, enough for two hearty eaters.

Sharing Crème Caramel

For caramel:
3 tablespoons of white sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons of water
1 tablespoon of warm/hot water

For custard:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar
300 ml whole milk (or 250 ml milk + 50 ml single cream)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
addition flavoring for variations* (optional)

One bakeware of 750ml capacity (like a small pasta bowl with 15-cm diameter) and a baking tray with at least 5-cm depth.

First, make the caramel. In a small milk pan put the sugar and 2 teaspoons of water in. Swirl to wet the sugar and put the pan on medium heat. When the mixture starts to bubble, swirl the pan a few times to even out the temperature. When the caramel is forming, watch like a hawk. You can turn the heat to low to make browning more manageable. Swirl the pan again to even out the caramelization. When the color becomes medium-dark brown, turn the heat off. Leave the pan for 10 seconds and pour 1 tablespoon of hot water in. Watch out for the steam/sizzling. Swirl the pan to encourage caramel softening. Pour the soft caramel to the bakeware. Rotate the bakeware so that the caramel covers the bottom of the dish. Set aside to cool when you prepare the custard.

Preheat the oven at 160 C and boil some water.

To make the custard, beat two eggs in a metal bowl. Put in 2 tablespoons of sugar, milk and vanilla extract in the pan which you just cooked caramel (no need to use a new pan). Heat the milk mixture until tiny bubbles surface from the side. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Once the tiny bubbles start to surface, turn the heat off and pour the warm milk into eggs, slowly and stirring the whole time. Sift the custard back to the milk pan and pour into the bakeware with caramel base.

Put the bakeware onto a baking tray and put the tray in the oven. Before closing the oven door, pour the hot water into the tray up to half of the bakeware height if possible. Bake at 160C for 25-30 minutes. A cooked custard will have some wobble when pushed and a toothpick should come out clean without any liquid surfacing. Cool to the room temperature and chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours before serving.

With great restraint, it's enough to serve two eaters happily twice.

*The following flavor variations require to reduce vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon in the main recipe and add:
1. Coffee and Baileys: 1 tablespoon of instant (decaf) coffee granules and 1 tablespoon of Baileys
2. Orange and Grand Marnier: orange extract or zest and 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier