I couldn’t take it anymore. I confess that my appetite for crème caramel (my ex-favourite dessert) had dominated my afternoon. I insisted that by last night I would eat a crème caramel for an after-dinner treat. So, lo and behold, my dream came true. The best part of the dream was that it tasted so creamy, so flavoursome – like one of the most delicious vegan desserts I have ever had. Making it was both a challenge and a mind-bending experience, but all worthwhile. You’ll want to earmark this one. Oh, and did I forget to mention ? It’s as easy as pie to make and bake. For an extra special taste, add a few drops of cognac and then . . . we can all meet in heaven.
Makes 4-6 portions (depending on ramekin dish size)
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CARAMEL
- 3/4 cup of white sugar (vegan)
- ¼ of a cup of spring water
- a squeeze of a fresh lemon
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRÈME
- ½ pint of soya milk
- ½ pint of soya cream (I use Provamel)
- 2½ tbsp custard powder (not heaped)
- 2 tsp egg replacer (I use Orgran)
- 1½ tbsp white sugar (not brown, as it will alter colour and not look appetising enough)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp crushed cardamon (optional)
METHOD FOR MAKING THE CARAMEL
Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and allow to bubble. When it turns a nice golden colour, lower the heat and allow the caramel to turn into a darker medium brown colour (that is where the flavour lies). When this has happened, pour in equal amounts into ramekin dishes or a glass dish – it must not be shallow, as you don’t want a pancake. Ramekin dishes work well, however.
METHOD FOR MAKING THE CRÈME
Place the custard powder and egg replacer in a medium sized glass bowl, add ¼ cup of the milk, and mix into a paste. Now add the remaining milk and soya cream, and continue to mix.
Add the remaining ingredients, and using an electric hand blender (or by hand if you don’t have one) stir very well. Finally, use a soup ladle to pour equal amounts of the crème mixture on top of the caramel. Do this gently in order not to over-agitate the base.
Now gently place the ramekin dishes in a larger glass pyrex oven dish, and slowly half fill it with boiling water. Place this dish in a hot oven (200°C), and allow to bake for 45 minutes . Do keep an eye on them though, as ovens vary.
Take out of oven, allow to cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for a few hours – or better still, cook them the day before, and leave them in the fridge overnight.
To serve, scrape around the edges of the ramekin dish with a sharp knife, and turn each crème caramel upside down onto a saucer. The rest will be history.
All recipes, content & design © Miriam Sorrell mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
These are free recipes for your pleasure – all we ask in return is that you take a few moments to leave a constructive comment !
Hi, I'm Miriam. I love meatless dishes, I love my kitchen, I adore food and am a passionate gourmet cook. Here you will find a host of delicious vegan recipes (meat-free, egg-free and dairy-free) - some are Mediterranean inspired, some have an Eastern touch, whilst others are simply inspired by ingredients that I love and experiment with. Most of the recipes are very nutritious. I have tried my utmost to combine the idea of eating healthily with great tasting recipes, which in the main are easy to prepare.
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:58 pm
your desserts are just delicious…what a great alternative!
February 24th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
That’s super thanks Eva !
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:57 pm
I just CANT wait to try this one and when I do I will let you know how it was~~!
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Hi Jacquelyn, thanks so much for your comment. Loooking forward to your feedback when you do make it . . . . Enjoy !
March 5th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
This also looks extremely good.
March 5th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
This looks amazing!! I can’t wait to try it! I do think, however, that I will use brown sugar, I don’t even keep the white variety in my house…
BTW, AMAZING blog with wonderful photos!!
March 6th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Yes Robert it does look quite tempting ! Shared with non-vegan friends last night they couldn’t believe how great the taste was ! They also said that it didn’t at all suffer without the addition of eggs in it, so that was quite satisfying to hear !
March 6th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Thanks so very much ! Hope you enjoy it ! We don’t much use white sugar ourselves and tend to sweeten with healthier options and always vegan varieties, however, for burning the sugar into caramel, I have’nt tried the brown, only because it’s not as easy to see when it browns when heating and unless the sugar achieves that burnt flavour, which is the key to the taste in this dessert, I am just a little hesitant – any burnt sugar isn’t healthy, so this dessert is only made once in an indulgent while ! However, I will wait to hear from you with your attempt ! Thanks for your constructive input !
March 31st, 2011 at 3:41 am
Hi Miriam. This looks delicious! I haven’t heard of custard powder before, though. Could you tell me which brand you use that is vegan? Thanks. Alex
March 31st, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Alex I don’t know which part of the world you live in but for USA & AUSTRALIA you can purchase ORGRAN Custard here is an amazon link for it, make sure you use your normal brand of vegan milk and all should remain vegan, as I believe all the ingredients are vegan http://www.amazon.com/OrgraN-Custard-Natural-Vanilla-Packages/dp/B000EHZZT0 – I do hope this helps. Best to you and let me know the outcome !
April 5th, 2011 at 11:45 am
I am going to try most of you good recipies. God bless.
April 6th, 2011 at 7:01 am
Hella Hi – thanks for that, and let me know how it all goes ! Best to you too !
April 14th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
This looks amazing..although, where do you find white sugar that is 100% Vegan?
April 14th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Hi Christina,
REGARDING VEGAN SUGAR.
All countries have different brands available – you need to google your area and find out what is sold locally to you in your healthfood store they should show you what is available, in the meantime here is a link that may help (I am in the Med not in the States) :
http://veganbits.com/vegan-sugar/
“Most refined white sugar is processed over bone char and that rules it out as a vegan product. However, there are sugars that are not. These are the brands of sugar we know to be vegan:
Wholesome Foods
Florida Crystals
Hain Organic Powdered Sugar
Jack Frost
Supreme
Southern Bell
365 (the Whole Foods house brand).
You can use these tidbits to help you navigate through the sugar aisle: Beet sugar is vegan. Raw sugars or turbinado are also vegan. Other acceptable vegan sweetners include:
date sugar
rice syrup
fructose
corn syrup
succanat
barley malt
molasses
maple syrup
agave nectar”
May 28th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Have you tried this with a nut milk? Would love to make it as dairy free and eggless, but for health reasons do not use soy. Thank you.
May 28th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Hi Vonney, as a matter of fact no, I haven’t tried it with nut milk – every body who is vegan or does not consume meat or dairy usually have their own choices of milk/dairy substitutes and this differs greatly for a host of different reasons. One is to remember the scope of this particular dessert – it is a ‘creme’ caramel therefore some form of vegan cream must be used, otherwise it is not a creme caramel – coconut cream is wonderful, but will alter it’s authenticity and become something else, not a creme caramel. I do love coconut cream though and use it for many other desserts and savoury dishes. Best to you !
May 29th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
““Most refined white sugar is processed over bone char ”
I never knew …and am a bit shocked.
I had no idea that white sugar was made that way!
Thank you for all your delicious recipes
It is however not easy to find alle the ingredients in Belgium.
But I will definitely try to find the vegan white sugar!
Thank you so much
May 29th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
http://www.meijer.com/s/wholesome-sweeteners-organic-sugar-12-packages-1-lb-ea/_/R-182693;jsessionid=7AEBE4C493250BA3E0F3B57478603B41.instance02?CAWELAID=832192605&cmpid=goobase
Hi Tilly, – here is a link regarding the sugar, I hope that this link will help you further – may be you can get some vegan sugar on-line, search as you may find it and have you gone to your local health food store? A few calls and enquiries might help, and once you find a source, you can always get more as you need it. It’s always a little difficult in the beginning, but once you establish good contacts and places for your needs you will be fine. Hope this helps and that you enjoy my recipes. Best to you !
July 22nd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Hi Miriam, thank you so much for all the wonderful work you do. For a long time i have not been making deserts requiring sugar or icing sugar, but have just noticed that you mentioned white sugar (vegan). Is it possible that i can still use these products. How do i know if it is vegan?? Many thanks for your help, Tracey
July 23rd, 2011 at 10:24 am
Tracey Hi there and thanks for your comment. Here is a link that gives the brands of sugar that are vegan http://veganbits.com/vegan-sugar/
Now apart from that, other sweeteners for many desserts that are vegan include: maple syrup, agave nectar syrup etc, so we are lucky in that respect. Hope the link helps. Cheers to you !
January 17th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Hi Miriam, I made this as part of a vegan French-themed lunch – along with French Onion Pie and Salad Nicoise – and I replaced the soy cream with soy milk. It worked out beautifully and was absolutely delicious! However, the caramel toffee stuck to the bottom of my ramekins – there was still enough of it covering the custard, but I was wondering if the rest of was also meant to come out to be eaten? Thanks, Jane.
January 17th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Jane Hi there and welcome here. Sounds like you had some fun with your lunch. I think that some of the caramel does stick to the bottom of the ramekin dishes, I don’t know whether you had too much stuck there – for next time perhaps allow it to thicken a tiny bit less after it becomes brown so that it does not solidify to that extent. That said, it sounds like you still managed to enjoy it with some caramel on top of it, and glad that it worked out beautifully for you and that it was enjoyed. Look forward to your future comments on my blog ! Cheers.
January 17th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Hi Miriam, thanks for your quick reply! I’ve just been looking at some of your other recipes – when is your cookbook coming out, because I would definitely buy it!?! I also just saw your beautiful jewellery – I assume you ship to Australia? Thanks again, Jane.
January 18th, 2012 at 11:15 am
Hi there Jane and thanks for dropping by here. My cookbook should be out in a matter of months, confirming dates soon. I shall let you know as and when since you are interested in purchasing it. I ship worldwide. All the best to you !!!