Crema Caramella (Glazed Custard)

Submitted by: jej
Last Updated: 1/13/2010

This recipe comes from "A COOK'S TOUR OF ROME -- The Best Roman Food and Where to Find It," by Doris Muscatine. While we encountered this delicious caramel-glazed custard everywhere we went in Italy, this recipe is featured as a 'dessert specialty' of a restaurant called "Pastarellaro" in Rome's Trastevere quarter. Pastarellaro dates back to 1848, and has served the likes of the Russian Tzar Alexander III and the musician Puccini. Enjoy!

CREMA CARAMELLA (Caramel Glazed Custard)

Custard:

2 whole eggs
4 yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. milk
vanilla to taste (recipe says "add a bit" LOL)

Caramel:

About 1/2 c. sugar
Water

MAKE THE CUSTARD: Beat together the whole eggs, yolks, and sugar in a large bowl. Heat the milk but do not boil; add a bit of vanilla. I add a good teaspoonful, probably. Add the milk, a very little bit at a time, all the while beating continuously with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. When all the milk is added, put the custard through a fine strainer. Now the custard can sit and the bubbles from beating and whisking disperse while a quart mold OR six individual molds are prepared in the following way:

MAKE THE CARAMEL: Recipe says to "melt the sugar in a low saucepan with just enough water to make it sticky--about two or three tablespoons. Cook until it takes on a good caramel color, but take care not to let it burn, as this will give it a bitter taste. The cooking should take only a few minutes. As it cooks, stir once or twice. Pour into the mold(s) and tip back and forth until the caramel coats all of the inside surfaces." ...read on...

This didn't work for me, or at least it didn't reach my expectations. So I attempted to use the "Joy of Cooking" method: "No water in non-ferrous pan over very low heat. Add water very slowly and carefully when desired color is achieved." Still not my ideal. ...still read on...

***Now I prefer to add NO water at all. This means to pour quickly when the sugar is melted and is a very light amber color. It immediately becomes VERY hard when poured into the 6 custard cups, but still provides sufficient caramel (I think, at least) for the custard: As the custard bakes, sufficient caramel liquifies to provide flavor and some "garnish" on and around the un-molded custard. If you wish for more, use one of the water methods; you may prefer the results.

BAKE THE CUSTARD: Put the caramelized mold(s) filled with the custard mixture in a larger pan with about two inches of very hot water, and bake for about forty-five minutes at 350 F. The temperature should maintain the water just below the boiling point. If it starts to boil, add a spoon of cold water and lower the heat a bit. When a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, the custard is cooked. Refrigerate until ready to use. Loosen the custard around the edges with a knife, and reverse quickly on an upside-down plate turned over the top of the mold. The Italians often prefer to un-mold the dessert at room temperature, so that the caramel has a runnier consistency. Serves six.

NOTE: We were served this dessert at a special dinner in a French home; the hostess had baked it in a single mold, which made a lovely presentation. In my opinion, that is for special occasions, although the individual servings could also make a very "dressy" presentation in sherbet stemware, also.

For every day, instead of using one mold, I prefer using individual (Pyrex) custard cups since there are just the two of us now. They offer more flexibility; e.g., my husband will often request a second serving, and the remainder is "untouched"? for later.

Some uses for the left-over egg whites may include:
Divinity candy
White 7-minute frosting or Miracle Frosting (posted)
Ornamental Icing
Royal Icing
Peanut Butter Tea Macaroons
Angel Food Cake
Scrambled Eggs (mix whites with whole eggs)