Cookbook challenge: Week 17 – Vietnamese – Banh gan

I have a bit of an irrational fear about recipes involving water baths. Years ago, doing my hospitality course, a bit of water splashed out of it and burnt me and ever since then I have avoided any recipe that calls for such nonsense. But, I love creme caramels and flans and anything custardy! So I decided to suck it up when I came across this recipe for Banh gan – coconut creme caramel.

I have never made my own caramel before… so that part was hard and it certainly didnt get a dark, rich colour because I got a bit freaked when it started getting real sticky. It also didnt make nearly enough for the quantity of mixture you have, so I would suggest anyone making these in the future double the caramel mixture.

The recipe was in fact super simple to put together, however it was quite eggy. I am not sure if this was because I use soy milk instead of real milk, which doesnt have quite the creamy flavour, but I would suggest upping the vanilla content and using a bit more coconut milk instead of real milk to possibly mask the eggy taste.

That said, 2 days on and the egg flavour was less prominent and the coconut milk really gives these a sweetness that is quite nice! I might play around with this recipe again in the future.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 225g (1 cup) white sugar
• 80ml (1/3 cup) water
• 1 x 400ml can coconut milk
• 375ml (11/2 cups) milk
• 6 eggs, lightly whisked
• 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• Toasted shredded coconut, to serve
• Shredded lime rind, to serve //

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Combine the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, occasionally brushing down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water, for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Pour the caramel mixture evenly among eight 160ml (2/3-cup) capacity ovenproof ramekins. Set aside for 5 minutes or until set.
2. Whisk together the coconut milk, milk, egg, brown sugar and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl until well combined. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug. Carefully pour over the caramel mixture in the ramekins.
3. Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until the custards are just set.
4. Transfer to a baking tray and set aside for 1 hour to cool. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight to chill.
5. To serve, run a flat-bladed knife around the inside edge of the ramekins and carefully turn onto serving plates. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and lime rind to serve.

Source

Good Taste – December 2006