Let's make the caramel sauce. Add 2 teaspoons of water to a pot of sugar. Turn on the burner. Avoid stirring but occasionally swirl the pot to distribute the sugar.
The sugar will gradually dissolve and turn into a clear liquid. When large bubbles form and the syrup around the edges of the pot begins to brown, it will quickly darken so be sure to keep your eyes on it.
When the caramel sauce becomes nice and golden brown in color, quickly place the pot onto a baking mat or trivet. Then, add the hot water in 3 to 4 steps. The hot liquid may splatter so be careful not to burn yourself.
Let it sit to cool. Then, put the caramel sauce in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. The caramel will thicken as it cools.
Let's make the egg mixture. Whisk one whole egg and one egg yolk in a bowl. The balloon whisk should always make contact with the bottom of the bowl to avoid creating unwanted foam.
Combine the milk and heavy cream in a pot. Add the sugar.
Open up the vanilla bean lengthwise with a knife. Then, scrape the inner seeds from the bean using the back of the blade. Add the seeds and bean to the cream mixture. Alternatively, you can use vanilla extract or if you're in Japan vanilla oil is widely available for cooking.
Heat the pot and occasionally stir the cream mixture. When small bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pot, remove.
Add the cream mixture to the beaten egg a little at a time while mixing. Gradually combining the mixture will help avoid cooking the egg.
Strain the egg mixture into a pitcher. This will help the pudding to have a smooth texture. Remove the foam on the surface with a spoon.
Lightly stir the egg mixture and pour it into oven-safe cups or ramekins placed on a baking tray. The mixture should be divided evenly. Remove the foam again.
Cover each cup with a piece of aluminum foil. This will help to keep the surface from drying out.
Place the baking tray into the preheated oven. Then, pour boiling water into the tray to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Be sure to use oven-safe cups.
Bake at 150°C (300°F) for about 25 minutes. Gradually baking the pudding in the hot-water bath will give it an extra-smooth texture.
After 25 minutes, check the inside of the cups before removing them from the oven. Gently shake the cup to see if the surface jiggles without breaking. Now, the custard is set. Let it sit to cool at room temperature and then chill the pudding in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Now, the pudding and caramel sauce are fully chilled. Pour the caramel sauce on top without unmolding and enjoy the scrumptious custard pudding.
Recipe Notes
Compared to our previous custard pudding, increasing the ratio of egg yolk to the egg white and adding the heavy cream give the pudding a smoother texture and richer flavor.
If you use relatively thin oven-safe cups, the baking time may be slightly reduced for best results.
You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of using the vanilla bean pod. Add more if you feel the aroma is too weak.😋
Ashley
5 years ago
I made the previous pudding recipe and it tasted only of egg. Would over cooking it cause this? I noticed the top of the pudding was a bit dry even though I covered it with foil.
Depending on the food chickens eat and the breeding environment, eggs might have some smells. In Japan, we often enjoy raw eggs and don’t sense strong smells from eggs sold on the market. You can use artificial vanilla extract or vanilla beans to cover the egg smell. Regular vanilla extract tends to lose its smell when cooking at high temperature.
The cooking method may make the surface a bit dry but it is still delicious. In Japan, “Yaki purin (Baked pudding)”, which is steamed without covering with aluminum foil, is also popular. 🙂
Thank you. I wondered if it was the type of egg. I used only a little vanilla extract. I think I will try again with Japanese eggs and bake in the oven instead of steaming.
can i steamed it instead of baking it in the oven? thank you
Yes! You should be able to steam the pudding as shown in our previous pudding recipe. 🍮♨️😋
How much vanilla extract should I use?
You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of using the vanilla bean pod. Add more if you feel the aroma is too weak.😋
I made the previous pudding recipe and it tasted only of egg. Would over cooking it cause this? I noticed the top of the pudding was a bit dry even though I covered it with foil.
Depending on the food chickens eat and the breeding environment, eggs might have some smells. In Japan, we often enjoy raw eggs and don’t sense strong smells from eggs sold on the market. You can use artificial vanilla extract or vanilla beans to cover the egg smell. Regular vanilla extract tends to lose its smell when cooking at high temperature.
The cooking method may make the surface a bit dry but it is still delicious. In Japan, “Yaki purin (Baked pudding)”, which is steamed without covering with aluminum foil, is also popular. 🙂
Thank you. I wondered if it was the type of egg. I used only a little vanilla extract. I think I will try again with Japanese eggs and bake in the oven instead of steaming.
Good luck in the kitchen!🍮🐩👩🍳💗
can i steam the mixture instead of bake?
Yes! Should be able to steam the pudding like shown in our previous pudding recipe. 🙂