Caramel Custard Pudding

I'm sure many of us have heard of Paris Baguette or even fell in love with their baguettes, or breads or even their Royal Pudding. What's the point here? The point is, I love their garlic baguettes recommended by my colleagues. And their Royal Pudding. When you buy take away, they wrapped it nicely in a cooler bag. I'm impressed. Not to mention, I keep their bottles of course.

After hesitating, or contemplating for a long time, I've finally decided to make the pudding myself. I adapted the recipe from Itadakimasu Anime blog. There were some delicate work making this caramel custard pudding. If you want to understand more about this pudding, you may hop over to her site. In general, I found that without using vanilla extract in the custard, it tasted very eggy. The custard was firmer rather than soft and smooth. There were quite a lot of bubbles formed in my custard. Quite a fair bit of improvements needed. Otherwise, my family members like them. If you haven't try the original Royal Pudding, then you may like this custard. If you have, then it's a far cry from the original. :p

Here is how I adapted the recipe.

Recipe for Caramel Custard Pudding in a glass, adapted from Itadakimasu Anime.
(Makes 12 glass bottles)

Ingredients:

For the caramel (can reduce to 1/2 of this portion)
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
4 1/2 tbsp hot water

For the custard:
150g Sugar
3 cups Whole milk
6 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla (optional. I omitted)

Method:

For the caramel:

1. Place sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Gently swirl the liquid around the pot as the sugar melts and is dissolved into the water. Continue heating and swirling the pot until the sugar turns a deep amber colour, being careful not to burn the caramel. (Takes at least 10mins)

2. Remove caramel from the heat and, using a long handled spoon or ladle, carefully add hot water to the caramel in 2 – 3 small portions. Swirl the contents of the pot together to incorporate the water into the caramel. Be careful of hot caramel splashing up during this step, as it can cause burns.

3. Evenly distribute caramel amongst the 12 glasses. Set aside.

For the custard:

1. Prepare the steaming environment for the pudding. Fill a pot with a fitted lid with enough water so that the bottom half of the cups are covered when placed into the water. Place a small, clean dishcloth or towel at the bottom of the pot to help distribute the heat evenly. Bring to a low boil.

2. While the water is heating, place milk and sugar in the same pot earlier (without washing) set on medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved and the milk is hot and steaming.

3. Whisk eggs in a heatproof bowl until the yolks are well incorporated into the whites. Try not to produce too many bubbles or mix a lot of air into the eggs. Slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, whisking vigorously as you pour, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Ensure the eggs and milk are incorporated together completely.

4. Strain the egg mixture using a fine meshed strainer and remove any foam from its surface using a spoon. Gently pour egg mixture evenly into each glass with the caramel sauce at the bottom. Cover securely with foil.

5. Gently place the uncooked custard in the prepared steaming environment. Cover the pot with a lid and steam, making sure the water remains just below the boiling point. Steam for 15-20 minutes, or until the top of the custard has solidified and is shiny.

6. Remove from hot water and let cool to room temperature, keeping the foil covering the glasses. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours, before consuming.