The flavor inspiration for this recipe was Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream mixed with burned caramel. Baking the crème caramel in a water bath is key for achieving that barely set, dense, and luscious consistency. And the lemon juice will help prevent your caramel from crystallizing. This recipe is from Where Cooking Begins by Carla Lalli Music.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
2½
¼
1
½
1
1
6
Preparation
Step 1
Combine milk, coffee, lemon zest, and ½ cup sugar in a small saucepan. Scrape in vanilla seeds; add pod. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 30 minutes.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 325°. Place a 9" pie dish or 1½-qt. loaf pan next to the stove. Cook lemon juice, remaining ⅔ cup sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Do not rush this step; if liquid boils before sugar dissolves, the caramel will never darken. Once syrup turns clear, stop stirring and increase heat to medium. Cook, swirling pan every few minutes, until caramel is deep mahogany and wisps of smoke appear. Immediately pour into pie dish. Quickly tilt pan to coat bottom and a bit of the way up the sides with caramel. Set inside a roasting pan or other ovenproof dish with high sides.
Step 3
Whisk eggs in a medium bowl to break them up a bit. Reheat coffee mixture until steaming, then pour into eggs, whisking constantly to combine. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into caramel-lined dish. Transfer to oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake until custard is set but still jiggles a bit at the very center, about 1½ hours. Let cool in water bath 30 minutes. Remove dish, cover with plastic wrap, and chill crème caramel until set, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
Step 4
To unmold, run a thin-bladed knife around edges of dish, making sure tip of knife stays flush against bottom of dish. Invert a large plate over dish, then quickly flip. Slowly lift off dish; crème caramel should slide out. If not, tap plate against countertop until it does. Serve in slices with caramel spooned over.
Leave a Review
Reviews (25)
Back to TopMade this recipe but for individual portions. Used 6, 8oz kerr wide mouth canning jars as ramekins. Cook time of 20min, at 325F in a convection oven was just perfect!
Lisan Al Gaib
Portland Oregon
4/16/2024
As many people point out, the cooking time is a little over-kill. 50 minutes seems to be the sweet spot. If you have an old oven like me, then you'll also need to increase the cooking temperature (325 F is just waaaay too low) . A big tip to know when it's done: if you see that the top is starting to change color (to a golden brown) take it out immediately! If you see bubbles then you might have over cooked it, it will develop a skin on the bottom that is not pleasant to eat (but the rest of the cake is still okay-just not ideal). I've made this a few times. Another tip while making the caramel, if you add more than 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, then flan will have more of a lemon drop flavor (which isn't bad, but it over-powers the coffee flavor). You could do a lemon-flavored flan with this method without the coffee beans. The flan will always have a dull gray-ish color to it, hence the coffee beans, (which is not typical for flans) but I don't think it takes away from the texture or flavor. It just looks unusual for this dish.
Big Chungus
Georgia
12/31/2020
Please change the time to cook the recipe!!!! I read the comments after putting mine in the oven for an hour and the texture was awful. Such a waste and so frustrating.
Anonymous
6/21/2020
soooooooo great, followed the 50 min rec in the comments. cook perfectly. my tips, is don't crush the coffee too much, and keep an eye on the milk, don't let it go past a light simmer. I also used a milk alternative. tasted great. making it again in a few days!
@moes_house
london, uk.
6/2/2020
THANK YOU EVERYONE I made this AFTER reading all the reviews so I was well aware of the time & I also didnt reheat my coffee before adding IT came out PERFECT and I have ALL of you to thank.!! What I hot from all your reviews 50 minutes is perfect timing , dont bother reheating coffee it doesnt change anything & use a pie dish. Hope anyone in the future just takes my advicd and cooks it the way all the reviews suggest.
Yumma1
Tewksbury, Mass
5/1/2020
Great recipe but you really need to change the cooking time to 50 minutes ! Do not cook for 1 1/2 hours people !!
YesChef
Paris
4/23/2020
Can anyone explain the point of the lemon peel in the coffee mixture? I don't recall Haagen Daz coffee ice cream having a lemony undertone.
Anonymous
1/21/2020