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    Home » Recipes » Desserts & Sweets » French Creme Caramel Recipe

    French Creme Caramel Recipe

    4.92 from 25 votes
    May 18, 2020 (last updated December 3, 2022) by Amina Al-Saigh

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    This classic dessert is known by so many names and made across the globe. One of my favourites and one that I only recently started making, it's known as Creme Caramel, Flan, Egg Pudding or Caramel Custard. It's luscious, creamy, sweet, and has a strong delightful caramel flavor. I was so intimidated by this dessert and only ate it when my mom made it for us growing up. But I tried my mom's really easy recipe (from her friend) and can report that I've mastered it. This French Creme Caramel recipe will definitely make you feel like a pro in the kitchen. Best part? Most of it comes together in minutes using a blender. It's a must try!

    Creme caramel slice served on a white plate.

    How to make this French Creme Caramel recipe

    Before making this, the term "water bath" used to always scare me. It just seemed like a complicated step in a recipe, and made me not even attempt it! Turns out its just some boiling water inside of a pan. Not too bad, right? Let me walk you through the steps...

    • You start by making the caramel first by adding the sugar to a pot. Try to do this without letting the sugar touch the edges. Then pour the water slowly on top, and leave it! Don't try to stir it or move the pot around. If you do, the sugar will crystallize and turn solid.
    • Turn the heat on to medium high and allow the sugar to melt and start bubbling. It will bubble for close to 7-10 minutes. You need to stay close by and keep monitoring until you see it start to change colour to orang-y or amber. That means caramalization has started and you can now move it around by swirling the pot
    • Once it looks dark orange, which will only take a minute, remove it and continue to swirl it around to get an even colour. Then pour it into your cake pan and quickly swirl the pan so it covers the whole base. The caramel will quickly heat the pan so careful with your fingers!
    • Next make the custard by adding the milk, eggs and condensed milk to a blender and blend for a bout 30 seconds.
    • Pour the custard in the pan on top of the caramel
    • Place the pan in a large baking dish and add boiling water halfway up the pan edge. That's your water bath ready.
    • Bake it in the oven at 325 F for around 45 - 50 minutes.
    • Allow it come to room temperature then store in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
    • When ready to serve, run a knife along the pan ensuring you press against the pan so you don't cut into the custard (I totally did that). Place a plate with an edge on top of the pan, breathe in, and flip.
    Creme caramel slice served on a white plate.

    How to bake Creme Caramel to perfection

    The trickiest part about making this french creme caramel recipe is knowing when to take it out of the oven. Over baking creme caramel will leave it tasting like eggs with a weird texture and with holes starting to form around its edges. A perfectly baked creme caramel will have smooth edges with no holes and taste perfect. This is how you know it's ready:

    • Don't rely on the baking time of 45-50 minutes. After about 38 to 40 minutes of baking, you need to test it.
    • Do this by shaking the pan. If it ripples like liquid or water, it's not ready yet. It needs to jiggle like set jelly.
    • You can also insert a knife in the middle - if it comes out with clumps attached, it's not ready. It needs to come out semi-clean with some streaks.
    • At this point, remove it from the oven and allow it to come to room temperature in the water bath. The residual heat will continue the cooking process.
    Creme caramel slice served on a white plate.

    Serving size from this Creme Caramel recipe

    This recipe will make enough for a 9" pan. You may have a little bit of the custard leftover if your pan is thin like mine (which I highly recommend - you can find it here). My pan is about 5 cm thick so I had a bit leftover that I used to make 2 small ramekins with it. If your pan is thicker, you'll be able to fit all of the custard in.

    The 9" pan will make roughly 10 small slices. It's best to serve small slices of creme caramel because it is decadent and sweet! Although I can't lie, I definitely had more than 1 slice...

    Oh and also, it's best to eat it the next day. It will keep for about 2 days in the fridge, and then the texture will get really dense and won't be as pleasant.

    I can't wait for you to try this out! That flip of the pan and the release that brings with it a perfect creme caramel is just pure bliss. You need to make it.

    For more dessert recipes, check out:

    • Chocolate Lazy Cake
    • Aish El Saraya bread pudding
    • Easy Nutella Cookies
    • 3 Ingredient Toffee Squares

     

    Creme caramel on a serving dish

    French Creme Caramel Recipe

    This Creme Caramel is so easy and made in the blender! You'll never be intimidated by this luscious and delicious classic dessert.
    4.92 from 25 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Desserts
    Cuisine: French
    Keyword: Caramel Custard, Creme Caramel, Egg Pudding, Flan
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 10 servings
    Author: Amina Al-Saigh

    Ingredients

    For the caramel:

    • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
    • ½ cup water

    For the Custard:

    • 8 eggs
    • 2 cans sweetened condensed milk 2x 300 ml cans
    • 600 ml whole milk fill up the same condensed milk cans
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat the oven to 325 F
    • Make the caramel by adding the sugar to a pot without touching the edges, and pour over the water. Do not stir it or move the pot and remain close by to watch it
    • Allow it to come to a boil over medium heat and stand by until it caramalizes by seeing some change in color. This should take about 10 minutes. You can then swirl the pan and wait until it turns a dark orange
    • Remove from the heat and pour it into your cake pan ensuring you cover the whole base by moving the pan around (carefully as the pan will get hot)
    • Next prepare the custard by blending together the eggs, condensed milk and whole milk. If your blender is small do it in 2 batches (half the ingredients for each batch)
    • Pour the custard on top of the caramel (which has solidified by now) all the way to the top
    • Place the pan in a larger baking dish and add boiling water half way up the pan's edge
    • Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Check the custard at around 38 minutes by jiggling it slightly. If it ripples like water, it's not ready. You need it to jiggle like set jelly. You can also insert a knife in the middle. It should come out mostly clean with a few streaks (not with little clumps).
    • Take it out and allow it to cool at room temperature inside the water bath. 
    • Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight
    • When ready to serve, run a knife along the edge pressing against the edge of the pan to avoid cutting into the custard
    • Place a plate with a raised edge on top of the pan and flip! 

    Notes

    • It's important to ensure you don't over bake the creme caramel. Read the section of the blog post titled "how to bake creme caramel to perfection" to get all of my tips. Over baked creme caramel will taste eggy.
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      Comments

    1. Rachael says

      October 03, 2022 at 5:17 pm

      5 stars
      This reciepe is amazing! ButI have a question, I have made this 4 times and it was never baked in 40 minutes. Always 1 hour and a half. Do you use conventional or conviction oven?

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Amina Al-Saigh says

        October 06, 2022 at 3:53 am

        I use a convection oven. I feel like of all the times I have baked it I have probably averaged 50 mins or so. The pan you are using could also introduce variability. But generally, in the recipe, I erred on the side of caution and gave the lower end of a possible baking time just so people don't over bake it! That is the worst; over baked creme caramel!

        Reply
    2. Tammy says

      August 30, 2022 at 5:46 am

      Salam Amina. I have trouble following recipes to a T and usually end up "winging it" at some point, but your directions sound spot on so I'm going to try to trust you and follow the recipe as written. 325 degrees sounds low to me and I think maybe my oven isn't as hot as most, I've over baked many creme caramels because they just weren't getting done at a low temp. Would it hurt to bake it at 350? By the way, I love the way you added "breathe" before flipping it! Too funny😄

      Reply
    3. Lindsay says

      April 01, 2022 at 3:37 am

      5 stars
      This recipe was great! Your instructions on how to see if it was done were spot on. My husband and I disagreed when to take it out but I read your directions carefully and based it on that. He was happy that we took it out at that time because it set up perfectly and was so easy to slice without it falling apart or it being clumpy. This is the first custardy thing I’ve made successfully! Thanks!!!

      Reply
      • Amina Al-Saigh says

        April 18, 2022 at 7:04 am

        Yay! I am so happy to hear that Lindsay! Well done 🙂

        Reply
    4. Katie says

      December 21, 2021 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for Thanksgiving, along with flourless chocolate cake and pumpkin pie, and everyone is clamoring for a creme caramel encore for Christmas dinner!

      Reply
    5. Jill says

      October 25, 2021 at 3:49 am

      5 stars
      The best, the easiest and the most reliable. There truly is no room to mess this up. The texture is creamy and delicate. If only more things in life were this full-proof. Just make it already!

      Reply
      • Amina Al-Saigh says

        December 13, 2021 at 9:01 am

        Haha thank you for the vote of confidence Jill! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    6. LNPD says

      September 08, 2021 at 4:03 am

      5 stars
      Amazing, made this recipe on 2 separate occasions and comes out perfectly each time. I just followed recipe exactly as written.

      Reply
      • Amina Al-Saigh says

        September 18, 2021 at 5:16 pm

        Thanks for the great feedback! Really happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂

        Reply
    7. HENRY GOLDENBERG says

      April 16, 2021 at 10:29 am

      Salam Amina, my favorite sweet even though I am not a sweet eater :-)(hope it makes some sense) my Mom used to make this for us and just love it.
      I will attempt this as you explained the recipe so well and can't wait to show off to family and friends. I do remember when my Mom(MHDSRIP)made it the caramel on top was darker than I have seen ........
      Cheers!!

      Reply
      • Amina says

        April 16, 2021 at 5:47 pm

        Hi Henry! That's wonderful - I hope you do try it. If you want a darker colour, simply leave the caramel on the heat until it darkens a little bit more 🙂

        Reply
    8. Mona says

      April 08, 2021 at 3:18 am

      5 stars
      Very nice recipe !!!!
      I want to try it but the condensed milk in the recipe stubbornly stop me to do it , cuz i can't bear this much swwwweeet. Can i use evaporated milk in exchange of condensed milk . If so, what will be the ratio of sugar in the pudding?

      Reply
      • Amina says

        April 08, 2021 at 5:15 pm

        Hi Mona! You can try substituting just one of the sweetened condensed milk cans for evaporated milk. It should theoretically work - let me know how it goes! I haven't tested it myself. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Lina says

      March 31, 2021 at 10:34 am

      5 stars
      Super easy and delicious!!!

      Reply
      • Amina says

        April 08, 2021 at 5:17 pm

        I'm so glad you enjoyed it Lina!!

        Reply
    10. Mimi says

      January 01, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      I can't get the sugar to caramelize without it getting crusty white and crystallizing.

      Reply
      • Amina says

        January 02, 2021 at 4:05 am

        Hi Mimi - in order to prevent the sugar from crystallizing, you need to make sure that the water and sugar are not touching the sides of the pan, and don't stir it with a spoon. You can also add a squeeze of lemon! That should do the trick 🙂

        Reply
    11. Carol Deathriage says

      November 18, 2020 at 8:15 am

      Hello
      This recipe looks amazing!! But do u coat pan with anything bfor baking

      Reply
      • Amina says

        November 19, 2020 at 3:41 am

        Hi Carol! No you don't need to coat the pan with anything. You can just start pouring the caramel straight into the pan as is. Good luck! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Dema says

      June 02, 2020 at 1:44 am

      This recipe was so easy to follow and it came out delicious! Will definitely be making it again soon ????

      Reply
      • Caroline says

        November 14, 2020 at 1:09 am

        I love cream caramel!!
        Thank you for the recipe.
        Is it possible to reduce the sugar?
        Would it still come out tasty?
        And by how much?
        Please share your experience.
        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Amina says

          November 19, 2020 at 3:56 am

          Hi Caroline! Since I use sweetened condensed milk, I actually can't reduce the sugar amount. Reducing it will alter the recipe and I haven't tested it! Sorry about that! But do try it and see if it and see if it is not too sweet for you 🙂

      • Amina says

        December 10, 2020 at 3:23 am

        I'm so glad Dema! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂

        Reply
      • Chat says

        February 06, 2021 at 6:46 am

        5 stars
        Worked out well for me, first time ever making this and I was so happy by the simplicity of it and the ease - I halfed all the quantities and it filled the dish perfectly...
        Not sure if the top layer had gotten to browny golden as it was the egg mix cooking - but it tasted great!

        Reply
        • Amina says

          February 17, 2021 at 5:47 am

          That's so great to hear! I'm glad you were able to execute it perfectly 🙂

    13. Shermina says

      May 25, 2020 at 9:57 am

      5 stars
      I”ve been making caramel custard for many years bow and have tried all sorts of recipes. But this one is BY FAR THE BEST caramel custard I’ve ever made. Thank you 🙂

      Reply
      • Amina says

        December 10, 2020 at 3:24 am

        That makes me so happy Shermina! Thank you so much 🙂

        Reply
    14. Nouran Abdelkader says

      May 18, 2020 at 8:43 pm

      Looks delicious !

      I am looking forward to trying it very soon, I like the condensed milk addition !

      Can I ask you what do you use the pan for other than creme caramel ?

      Thank you ????

      Reply
      • Amina says

        May 20, 2020 at 8:11 pm

        Hi Nouran! I use it when I make a layered cake as well - I split the batter between two pans, it works great for that. 🙂

        Reply

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    ABOUT ME

    Hi friend! I'm Amina, a wife and busy mother of two. And I know you're super busy too. I'm here to help you figure out dinner for your family with my easy, quick, and Middle Eastern inspired recipes. Hope you enjoy your stay - and please - have a look around and get in touch!

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