Oeufs au Lait
Smooth, wobbly baked custard with a layer of amber caramel on top. Delicate and silky, infused with vanilla, and impossibly simple to make with just four ingredients. This is a French dessert that adults love just as much as children do!
Ingredients
- 1 l whole milk
- 6 egg
- 100 gr sugar
- 1 vanilla pod or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp water
For the caramel
- 100 gr sugar
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- 1 baking dish or individual ramekins
- 1 double boiler pot for bain-marie
- 1 saucepan for caramel
- 1 spatula for caramel
Instructions
1. Make the caramel
- Put 100g sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and let it bubble until it turns a rich amber. Pour immediately into the ramekins and tilt to coat the bases. Set aside to harden.
2. Infuse the milk
- Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add both pod and seeds. Heat gently until the milk just trembles, with small bubbles at the edge, without letting it boil. Remove from the heat, leave to infuse a few minutes, then remove the pod.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl with the remaining 100g sugar. Whisk until the mixture pales and thickens slightly.
4. Combine
- Pour the warm milk slowly onto the eggs in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly, until smooth.
5. Strain and fill
- Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, then pour gently into the ramekins over the hardened caramel. Skim off any foam from the surface.
6. Bake in a bain-marie
- Set the ramekins in a deep dish, place on the oven shelf, and pour in hot water to come halfway up their sides. Bake at 150°C (130°C fan) for 30–40 minutes, until the centres still wobble slightly and a knife tip near the edge comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if the tops brown too quickly.
7. Cool and chill
- Lift the ramekins out of the water and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
8. Serve
- Serve cold, straight from the ramekins they were baked in.
Notes
- Caramel watch: Keep an eye on the caramel as it cooks, it can burn quickly.
- Vanilla options: If you don’t have a vanilla pod, vanilla extract works just as well.
- Make ahead: This dish is even better the next day.
- Never let the milk boil before it meets the eggs, or they'll scramble.