The recipes are aim to be as low carb as possible too so they are all grain and gluten free – (except for one rogue cake that slipped in!).
Mar 30, 2023
Crème caramel is such a well-deserved classic. It might not strut its stuff in the way that some desserts do but it doesn’t need to. It just quietly sets off a bliss bomb the moment the first mouthful hits the taste buds, with its smooth caramel tones and silky texture. The reason I know this is because I’ve recently managed to make one - with zero/dlow sugar ingredients. I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself, as I simply assumed it wasn’t possible. I have to thank my chum Tony Brown for the inspiration to try.
As you may have already discovered for yourself, sugar replacements don’t necessarily behave the same way as sugar does. Commonly used sugar alcohol sweeteners like xylitol and erythritol are a good enough flavour replacement but they don’t dissolve that well and they don’t caramelise either. Which could leave you rather high and dry in the crème caramel department. Happily though, I can report that allulose, a newer natural sweetener on the market, does both. I’ve included some information about it on the Alternative Sweeteners page. I’ve used the allulose alongside some yacon syrup and caramel essence to give the crème caramel some extra caramel oomph.
The ingredients below make 6 small desserts: (I used 150ml tumblers)
EGG CUSTARD
3 eggs and 2 yolks
300ml milk
2tbsp milled sweetener (see options below)*
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste
CARAMEL SAUCE
4tsp allulose
100ml water
2 tbsp yacon syrup
2 tsp caramel essence
Preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas mark 4
Put the milk in the saucepan ready to heat and add the milled sweetener and vanilla paste, stir in well and set aside.
In a bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks and set aside.
For the caramel sauce, put the allulose and water into a saucepan and cook over a high heat for 4 minutes stirring constantly. You will start to see the liquid evaporate a little and the syrup start to turn golden.
After 4 minutes, take off the heat and stir in the yacon syrup with a little caramel essence.
Distribute the caramel sauce equally between the 6 dessert bowls/tumblers.
Put the milk mixture onto the heat, and heat gently to the just under boiling point.
Slowly add to the beaten eggs and mix well.
To pour the egg custard mix into the pudding bowls, I recommend decanting it first into a vessel or jug that pours well - or it turns into a bit of a chimps’ tea party at this point.
Put the filled dessert bowls into an ovenproof tray. Fill the tray with boiling water, up to between a third and halfway up the side of the bowls.
Cook for approx. 15 minutes. The middle should still have an everso slight wobble to it but be cooked through.
Allow to cool and gently score around the side of the egg custard with a small spatula. Pop a dessert plate/bowl over the top of the glass and flip the right way up.
Store in the fridge.
*Granulated natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.
