WHO: Midge lives in Boston and is a journalist specializing in travel. She says, "Cooking, especially baking, is my way of winding down after a long day."
WHAT: A rich pudding that has just the right balance of bitter and sweet. HOW: Starting the water bath with cool water, rather than hot, cooks the pudding very gently, giving it the most incredibly silken, glossy structure.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Puddings thickened with cornstarch make great comfort food, but Midge's luxurious caramel custard, which uses egg yolks as its only setting agent, elevates pudding to dinner party fare. As with any egg-enriched custard, the key is careful tempering. As for the caramel, be sure to brown it as far as your nerves allow.
Midge says: "So far, one of the best parts about living in Boston is my proximity to Toscanini's burnt caramel ice cream. I'm not even that into ice cream, but this flavor, with its slight bitter edge to cut the richness, is cracklike. I attempted to capture it in a pudding, and after incinerating a lot of sugar, I think I finally got it."
Ingredients
Serves 4
Preparation
Step 1
1. Heat the oven to 300°F.
Step 2
2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream; toss the scraped pod in there too. Turn the heat to low to gently warm the cream.
Step 3
3. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pour the remaining sugar and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, set over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then crank the heat to high and let the liquid bubble away—don't stir, just swirl the pan occasionally—until it turns dark amber. This takes about 4 minutes, but watch closely, because it happens fast. Reduce the heat to medium.
Step 4
4. Moving quickly, fish the vanilla pod out of the cream (rinse it and save for another use) and slowly stir the warm cream into the caramel. Once it comes to a boil (this will happen fast), remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
Step 5
5. Whisk the egg yolks with the reserved sugar and a pinch of sea salt in a medium bowl. Whisk a little of the cream-caramel mixture into the egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the rest until it's all incorporated.
Step 6
6. Strain the mixture into a pitcher or large measuring cup and pour it into four 6-ounce ramekins (see Tips and Techniques). Place the ramekins in a shallow baking pan filled halfway with cold water. If you like your caramel a bit salty, like me, sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on top of each pudding. Cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until just set.
Step 7
7. Chill the puddings for at least 3 hours; but it's best if you can chill them overnight. Serve with freshly whipped cream.
"I used some old custard cups that hold about 5 ounces, but 6-ounce ramekins should be fine."
What the Community Said:
woodside: "Just the right amount of rich, and ultrasmooth and creamy. Simple, and definitely guest-worthy."
panfusine: "Congratulations, Midge...Such an elegant recipe, with exactly five ingredients! Awesome!"
perfectchaos: "Thank you, Midge, for this fun offering; I white-knuckled during the sugar browning, only swirling the pan now and then, but you are absolutely correct with the 4-minute time frame. All was so easy, and the custard has an amazing depth of flavor finish!"
Leave a Review
Reviews (8)
Back to TopI had extra yolks from making meringue and hated to waste them. I found this recipe and gave it a shot since I had all the other ingredients. I'm so glad I did! This was fantastic. The directions were perfect. I had never made caramel before and thought I had overcooked it but I carried on, finished the recipe, tucked the ramekins away in the fridge overnight and my husband and thoroughly enjoyed them the next evening.
smildrum
Boston, MA
12/31/2020
We enjoyed this, prepared exactly as written, with a few fresh raspberries on top. Will make it again.
mamacakes2
Minneapolis
3/31/2014
Have made this three times now as written. Spectacular every time. The recipe is very easy to follow. Used a coarse sel gris on this. Thought I'd gone a little overboard on the salt here and there but apparently this can tolerate a bit extra salt because it was still great.
archeteuthis
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2014
Easy, simple, amazing flavor. LOVED it, I may have done something wrong, but portions were really small. I would make 1/2x more for 4 people.
davidjenn
Boston/LA
2/25/2013
Delicious dessert, and easy to make! Couple of comments: a bit too sweet for me, so I'll try cutting the sugar next time. If you serve it with whipped cream, make sure it's unsweetened. Also, no need to let the cream mixture oool before adding it to the egg -- just make sure you temper the egg with a bit of the hot mixture first.
Anonymous
Paris, France
2/24/2013
LOVED this pudding! Mine came out a lot darker and browner than in the photo, I wonder if that's because I burned the sugar pretty brown? I didn't even strain it because I poured it into the ramekins being careful not to get any of the cream "skin" into the mix. Anyway, it's smooth, rich, simply delicious! Will definitely make again!
sugarfiend
Pasadena, CA
2/16/2013
This pudding is absolutely fantastic!
moffett1
New York, NY
1/7/2013
One of the very best desserts I've ever made, and not as challenging to make as you may think. The bitter caramel taste is sophisticated and delicious. The texture was silken. I'm looking forward to making this again soon!
mtbwustl
1/1/2013
This is apparently an older recipe, but it is still a favorite in this house. I have adjusted amounts and times so I can make it with how or three egg yolks, depending on what I have.
Anonymous
Waupaca, Wisconsin
1/13/2023
