Monday, August 14, 2006

Pressure-cooker caramel custard

I've made caramel custard before, but baked in the oven. I've even made it steamed in a pressure cooker - but never actually pressure-cooked it. Actually I've read that it's not meant to be cooked under pressure, merely steamed (like idlis, I guess). I was curious about whether pressure-cooking it give the same taste to the custard, whether it would cook and look the same as well - and I followed the recipe in Anupama's food blog, Food n More and whaddya know, it DOES taste the same. The custard tended to accumulate runny juices (probably because of something I didnt do right, but I dont know what!), but that didnt detract from the taste.

Recipe for:
Pressure-cooker caramel custard




Ingredients:

3 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup sugar + 4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Dissolve 1 cup sugar in the milk and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl till light.

3. In a flat bottomed steel vessel which will fit in the pressure cooker, place 4 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water.



4. Heat this over a very low flame until the sugar caramelizes to a rich golden brown. Swirl the caramelized sugar in the pan so that it coats the pan part-way up the sides. Let this cool for 10 minutes.



5. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract to the cooled milk, mix well and pour into the prepared pan.



Cover the pan with lid and pressure cook it for 2 whistles. Then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat again and when the cooker comes back to full pressure, turn it off.

Let the cooker sit till the custard has cooled in it. Then take the pan out and place it in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight).

To unmold the custard, run a thin spatula or knife around the side of the pan to loosen the custard. Then place a large serving plate over the pan and tilt it quickly. When you take the pan off, the custard should have unmolded onto the plate.



Serve sliced into wedges.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pressure cooked custard is new for me. My mothter used to make me tons of the 'steam cooked custard'in futile attempts to make me gain some weight. Of all the methods u mentioned, which one works best for you? As far as I am concerned, oven baked ones are the most perfect ones.

Rajesh &Shankari said...

oh wow..have never heard of this before, looks mouth watering to me

Prema Sundar said...

very nice step by step pictures .A nice recipe.

Unknown said...

Caramel custard is my fav. Thanx for the visual treat.

indianadoc said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
indianadoc said...

I'v tried in the microwave as an alternative to the double boiling...pressure cooking ws never tried...this is the most frequently cooked dessert at my home...so will definitely try it u'r way next time...thanx to anupama and u for sharing..

RP said...

I too thought it was not supposed to be pressure cooked! In that case, how about pressure cooking idlis?
Your custard looks perfect. I usually bake it in the oven. I have followed giniann's recipe a few times..Will try this one too. Thanks for sharing.

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Wow Shammi... Pressure cooked custard... Gotta try it...

Sury said...

I've got to try this as well. Looks yummy and not so hard to make. Thanks for the recipe, Shammi!

Anupama said...

I'm glad you tried my method Shammi.

Unknown said...

that lovely a thing with just four ingredients ?? I love pressure cooker recipes, trying it this weekend-thanks to anupama too!

Varsha said...

wow i always wanted this recipe..thanks.... and ya...nice blog you have here

Anonymous said...

i tried making it at home today...it tastes awesome !!!
thanks for the wonderful recipe..i always go through your blog but hadn't commented till now.
looking forward to more recipes :)

Shilpi said...

Hi Shammi,

I am going to try my hand on making this Caramel Custard tomorrow. Doing my homework on the Internet on how to make this dessert, I came to know that the milk needs to be whisked with eggs until there are little bubbles everywhere, not too much fluff. Apparently creating too much foam might make the custard runny. So, maybe that could be the the reason why yours turned out that way as I can see a lot of bubbles in your milk-egg mixture! I'll keep this in mind when I make it tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

hi shammi,

Pls let me know how long the sugar takes to caramelize in low flame.

Anonymous said...

great recipe..it turned out super! thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thanx dear,

I just made it and its awsome.

Kasturi said...

Hi!! I have tried our recipe of caramel custard several times and each time it turns out perfect! Thanks for sharing a superb recipe. I have shared your recipe with many of my friends and relatives and everybody said that they tried it and it came out perfect. Just wanted to thank you on behalf of everybody!! Keep sharing such great recipes!! :)

Unknown said...

such a wonderfull and short recipe. i will surely make it and do comment on it.

Anonymous said...

Hi, i have seen something similar, and you cover the custard pan or individual ramekins with foil then cook in pressure cooker. Keeps the water out. This one looks great with caramel!