Was virtually flipping through my posts the other day & realised that desserts had, of late, deserted my blog. It’s been a while since I posted a chocolaty dessert, so here we are.
The story goes like this. We were visiting my Mom the other day, & she told the kids that she had made some caramel custard, & had added some chocolate to it, since she knew they were coming. The kids whooped with joy…but her idea of chocolate & their idea of chocolate were poles apart! They still ate the caramel custard, which used to be a regular at our dinner tables when we were young.
I think the caramel custard tradition began at the time my Dad was in the services. For dessert, Air Force Messes always served a creme caramel, or a bread pudding, or fruits with custard. On lucky days fruit with cream made an appearance! Egg-o-phobic me could never eat the caramel custard, & I still recall swallowing the compulsory spoonfuls. It never occurred to us to say no; ‘saying no to food’ just wasn’t allowed! Times have changed & so have expressions…so by the time we reached home that evening, the pleadings for chocolate caramel custard were growing louder & louder.
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Take the baking tin that the custard is going to be cooked in, put in the sugar, & leave on medium heat, unstirred, till the sugar melts & begins to turn brown / caramelises. Swirl the pan a bit if the sugar is getting too brown; be careful it doesn’t char. Once the sugar has caramelised, reduce heat to a minimum, add the coffee & quickly, yet gently mix in.
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Take off the heat, swirl the tin around to allow the caramel to coat the bottom & sides of the tin. Leave aside to cool. (Should harden in about 2 minutes, & completely cool in 10).
For the custard:
Milk – 3 cups / 750ml
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Eggs – 3
Cornflour – 2 tsps
Cocoa – 3-4 tbsps (according to strength of cocoa; the one we get here is pretty mild)
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Method:
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Mix the cornflour + cocoa in a small bowl. Add some cold milk & mix into a paste.
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Put the cocoa mixture & all the other ingredients into a big bowl & whisk till well blended.
Gently pour into the caramel lined tin. -
Here you can either bake it in a water bath at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes/until set. OR, like I made it, make it in a pressure cooker. Put a little water in the cooker, should come up to half the height of the pan, & bring to a boil. Place a low metal plate / trivet in the base of the cooker, & gently place the baking tin on this. Cook under pressure, with the cap on, for 15 minutes, on medium heat. Turn off heat & leave it as it is to cool.
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Once cool, chill for at least 4 hours so it is well set.
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Then take a butter knife, run along the edges, hold a pie dish /serving dish on top, & quickly turn the tin upside down. Do this swiftly & the caramel custard will turn out unbroken into the dish. Swirl cream over the top, with some chocolate flakes & chopped toasted walnuts. Even just walnuts compliment the caramel beautifully.
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Chill until served.
I leave you with pictures of these pretty little butterflies. Dozens of these tiny creatures have overtaken our garden. They chase each other dizzily all day long…their sudden appearance signalling the change of season. The nips in the air…& winter is round the corner!
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