The Freshman Cook: Caramel and Vanilla Bean Custard

I love this Caramel and Vanilla Bean Custard! I don’t know why custards and puddings are so often overlooked as a dessert. Do you? I mean they are wonderful, and there are so many ways to prepare them.The list of ideas is endless. Today I thought a little variation on a basic custard might be just the thing to spur some of your own ideas about pudding and custard and how you can design one that you and your family will love.

For this recipe I used vanilla bean and caramel sauce. I used a pre-made Dulce de Leche sauce.

Caramel and Vanilla Bean Custard

adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman

(printable recipe)

2 cups Heavy Cream

1 Vanilla Bean

1 can (13.4 oz) La Lechera Dulce de Leche

2 Eggs

2 Egg Yolks

1/2 cup Sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Begin by pouring your cream in a saucepan. Put your heat on medium

Scrape 1 Vanilla Bean into your cream. I don’t have pics of this, but I’ll add some later. Take a vanilla bean and cut down the long side. Open it and lay it flat. A small paring knife works great for this. Then use the knife to scrape the bean pulp that is inside. It will stick to the edge of your knife. Knock it off the knife and in to your cream. Stir a little to get it integrated. Cook until it begins to steam.

While your cream is heating, use a small amount of caramel to cover the bottom of each ramekin.

Place in pan like above, that can hold water. Use 4-6oz. ramekins. The heart ramekin is for extra custard.

Place your eggs and yolks in to a bowl. Whisk together the eggs, yolks, and sugar until it becomes pale yellow and thicker. Start to boil water in a pot on the stove for your water bath.