Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Pots de crème aka caramel pudding #recipe from @DarylWoodGerber



I tried a new recipe from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook called: GLUTEN-FREE Baking by Kristine Kidd. I love when I find gluten-free books that have exquisite pictures and a wide variety of recipes.


Now when I landed on pots de crème, I though, oh, yum! Must have. By the way, pots of crème are naturally gluten-free, so it’s a bit of a cheat putting them into a book like this. I expect to have recipes that at one time needed to be converted from a regular recipe.

But I won’t quibble, because this recipe was fantastic!!!

I’m giving you the recipe as it stands, but I tweaked and changed, and okay, oops, I  made a BIG mistake. Big.  See below.  But, spoiler alert, these little gems still turned out great, despite my mistake. How’s that for wonderful!


Salted Caramel Pots de Crème

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (I used ¼ teaspoon)
Fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt for sprinkling (I couldn’t find this!)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place 6 2/3-cup (5 fl oz) or ¾-cup (6 fl oz) custard cups or ramekins in a large roasting pan.



Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large glass measuring cup. [Note: I skipped this step. See below.]

Bring a kettle of water to boil.  (Fill it with about 6 - 8 cups water)

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, stir together the sugar and ¼ cup water until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil, without stirring, until the mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush and swirling the mixture in the pan, about 6 minutes.  (Mine took about 8-9 minutes.)







Gradually whisk in the cream and milk (the mixture will bubble vigorously). THIS IS WHERE I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE. I READ THE PORTION AS 1 CUP OF MILK INSTEAD OF ½ CUP. MY MIXTURE WAS DEFINITELY THIN!  BUT, SEE THE RESULTS BELOW…



Reduce the heat to medium, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the caramel bits dissolve. (My caramel was one big glob, but it eventually dissolved completely, about 3-4 minutes.)

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy.  [Note: set aside your egg whites if you want to make something meringue-y.]  Slowly add the hot caramel mixture, whisking constantly. THIS IS HARD TO DO AND TAKE A PICTURE! IMPOSSIBLE IF THERE’S ONLY ONE COOK.



Stir in the vanilla and kosher salt.  Immediately pour the mixture into the sieve. [Like I said, I skipped this part; didn’t need it – MAYBE because my mixture was too thin, but I had no lumps!]. Divide the mixture among the cups.



Remember the billing pot of water you put on? Use it here. Add enough hot water to the pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Cover the pan with foil.



Bake the pots de crème until they’re just set around the edges but still move in the center when gently shaken, about 35 minutes. Carefully remove the cups from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.



Sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel [IF YOU CAN FIND IT ANYWHERE!] over each pot de crème and serve cold.



A NOTE FROM THE COOKBOOK STAFF:  “It is safest to caramelize the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan that has a light-colored interior so you can observe the color of the boiling sugar as it browns. The darker the caramel gets, the deeper the flavor will be, but be careful not to burn it.”


AND NOW FOR MY RESULT – ADDING THE EXTRA MILK DIDN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THIS WAS SO TASTY. MY HUSBAND THOUGHT IT MIGHT TASTE SWEETER IF THERE WAS LESS MILK, SO SINCE I’LL BE MAKING THIS AGAIN—PROBABLY WEEKLY!—I’LL TRY IT WITH THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF MILK.

SO YUMMY!!!!!


If you want a printable PDF version of the recipe CLICK HERE.

******************

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17 comments:

  1. It looks divine! I am always looking for gluten free recipes (that taste good) so I will check out Kristine Kidd's cookbook. Thanks! :D

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  2. looks amazing! I love caramel and love flans and puddings--will definitely try!

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  3. Certainly looks like a winner, especially since it is so forgiving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No kidding, right? I messed up and it was still good? Yay!

      Daryl

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  4. That looks so sweet and tasty! Thanks!

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  5. This looks amazing, Daryl! And yes, lots of foods are naturally gluten-free, but you have to love the marketing.

    Thanks for this, Hugs. MJ

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    Replies
    1. That's what it's all about. Marketing. And the pictures in the book? Amazing.

      Daryl

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  6. These look so decadent-YUM! I even have Fleur de Sel - I got it at Whole Foods~ Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. You got it at Whole Foods? I didn't find it in mine. I'll ask next time. Thanks!

      Daryl

      Delete
  7. This dessert sounds heavenly! Will try it right away.
    Nancy R

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  8. It looks unbelievably wonderful. I don't suppose it comes with the nutritional info anywhere, does it?

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  9. Heavenly idea for a summer dessert, Daryl, and it's gluten free naturally (as you point out). Winner! Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

    ~ Cleo

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  10. Hi Daryl, I've pinned the recipe to my Pinterest page and will print it out to try in a week or so. I love the recipes you all post here.

    ReplyDelete