Thyme Crème Caramel

This is a really delicious update on an old favourite!    I have been experimenting with various herbs, and thyme is extraordinary, as it goes really well with meat, but also with puddings and biscuits.  It has to be fresh, as little dried leaves don't work as a substitute.   When I made this one, I thought I'd overdone the caramel, but the slightly darker colour gave it more of a tang than usual.   Have you discovered the top tip for creme caramel?   When you have shaken the caramel out of the dish, microwave the dish to melt the rest of the caramel that sticks to the sides and pour it over the top (or keep it till later as the cook's perk!!).  This recipe quantity makes a good sized Crème - if you wanted a smaller one, look for one of my other recipes on the blog. 

Thyme Crème Caramel

Thyme-infused Crème Caramel

6 oz sugar

7.5 fl oz/220ml water

1 small bunch fresh thyme with extra to decorate

1.5 pints/880ml full fat or semi-skimmed milk

6 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 150 deg C and boil a kettle of water.   Get a soufflé dish or oven proof dish with a minimum base diameter of 9”/23cm ready.

In a small strong pan, boil the sugar and water until it forms a caramel – it goes bubbly and brown.  Take off the heat and gently pour it into the soufflé dish, using a heat-proof spatula to get the last delicious scrapings off the pan.   Swirl the dish around slowly while the caramel is setting to get an even coat, with some caramel up the sides.  Leave to get cold and hard.

Pour the milk into a non-stick pan.  Tie the thyme into a bunch so that it doesn’t fall apart, and add it to the milk.  Warm the milk to roughly blood heat, then pour onto the beaten eggs (and sugar).    Squeeze out the thyme, then stir the mixture thoroughly and strain it into the soufflé dish (this gets rid of those strange bits of egg white and any remaining leaves).  Put the dish into a baking tin and pour in enough boiling water to go half way up the side.   Bake for approx ¾ to1hr, until the caramel is set. 

Remove from the water, then put cling film on the top and refrigerate.  This is best left for at least 24hrs before unmoulding, as the caramel top gently merges into the cooked crème.  

To get it out of the dish successfully (!), run a palette knife round the edge, then put the receiving dish (one with at least 1” sides) on top of the soufflé dish.  Lift both dishes together and then turn them over in one movement.  There should be a gentle flop when the (hopefully undamaged) crème caramel slides onto the serving dish.    Add a sprinkling of thyme stalks.