Creme caramel with pine nuts

Creme caramel is a spoon dessert of French origin, but we can reinterpret it with an Italian touch by adding pine nuts. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 500 ml of whole milk
• 4 eggs
• 150 g of sugar
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 80 g of pine nuts
• For the caramel:
  • 100 g of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of water

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the caramel. In a thick-bottomed pot, put the sugar and water and cook over medium-low heat until the sugar begins to caramelize. Stir gently until it gets a golden color.
2. Pour the caramel evenly into the molds you have chosen for the creme caramels and tilt them to coat the bottom and a bit of the sides. Let cool.
3. In a separate pan, lightly toast the pine nuts until they become golden and aromatic, being careful not to burn them. Set aside.
4. Heat the milk in a pot with the split vanilla bean to release the seeds or the vanilla extract, until warm but not boiling.
5. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining sugar until you get a light and frothy mixture.
6. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk, if used, and slowly pour the warm milk over the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly.
7. Add the toasted pine nuts to the mixture and mix well.
8. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Pour the mixture into the prepared molds, then place them in a deep baking dish. Pour hot water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the molds to create a bain-marie.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the creme caramels are firm to the touch but still slightly wobbly in the center.
10. Remove the molds from the bain-marie and let cool to room temperature, then transfer them to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
11. To serve, run the blade of a knife along the edge of the molds and invert the creme caramel onto a small plate.

Curiosity

Creme caramel differs from crème brûlée mainly in the presence of liquid caramel at the base and the fact that creme caramel is cooked in a bain-marie in the oven, while crème brûlée is caramelized on the surface with a torch after cooking. The addition of pine nuts is a tribute to Mediterranean flavors and gives the dessert a pleasant crunchiness.