EGGLESS JELLY CREME CARAMEL

This is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last few weeks! An eggless creme caramel! Just as silky, just as creamy albeit slightly firm and jelly-like but almost as good as the 'real' one and quite delicious considering that it is entirely eggless. For those of you who already know of an eggless creme caramel and are not overly stimulated by it that's ok because this is for me and for those who really get galvanized over anything that doesn't use eggs at all but tastes pretty much like the eggfull version especially when it spells dessert, cakes ice cream etc etc etc. Come my comrades let us gather and swoon over this.

I have to thank Mat Gebu/Fluffy Mat for this. He posted this on his lovely blog although quite non-chalantly I must say (obviously the egglessness of it did not raise the slightest quiver in his eyebrows) but I have made it with some adjustments to his recipe just so to get it the way I wanted it.

My children loved it, hub agreed to it after telling him that it is eggless, and I indulged without the burden of guilt.



The recipe...........

Custard :

1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp powdered gelatin ( I used 2 but I think it could be reduced to 1 1/2 to make it a little less firm)
1250 ml fresh full cream milk
120 gm castor sugar
3 Tbsp custard powder

Caramel :

3/4 - 1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp water



Make caramel first :

Put sugar and water in a small pot and heat on medium flame until it starts to turn a light golden brown. Watch it carefully and don't turn away when you're doing this because once the syrup turns golden it darkens very quickly after that. Do not stir. Once the sugar/caramel turns a light golden brown swivel the pot a little to let the colour even out and then pour directly into your mould or ramekin dishes. I used a ring mould with a capacity of slightly over 4 cups of liquid.

Swivel the mould so that the caramel reaches up the sides a little. Let cool and harden.

Make custard :

Pour the milk into a medium pot and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let the gelatin soften a little then put in the sugar and custard powder. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer STIRRING ALL THE TIME with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. This can take up to 20 minutes maybe. Be patient.

Pour the custard through a sieve into the mould over the hardened caramel and chill in the refrigerator overnight or until firm. Takes a few hours.



To unmould :

Loosen the sides with a knife carefully. Put a serving plate large enough over the top and then turn the whole thing over so that the mould is bottom up facing you on the platter. Get a hot towel (soaked in hot water and squeezed) and place the towel over the mould's bottom. Shake the mould a little, wiggle it some more if necessary until the creme caramel slips out easily. Make sure you use a slightly indented platter to collect the golden caramel that will pool around the custard. Serve chilled.