Crème Caramel with orange liqueur syrup

Crème Caramel .... so classic...  so French.... but so innocently naive to think for years (while I was a kid) that this was another Greek dessert that "mummy prepares better than anyone else!!!"...:-))) As a tribute to my mother (thank God she is still with us) and to my gone (but not forgotten) childhood here you have the chance to try this famous dessert with the refreshing addition of the orange flavour

Recipe of Thalia Tsihlaki

"BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper (2008)

Ingredients (for 6 people)

For the cream:
200ml single cream
6 tbsp of fresh milk, full fat
1 vanilla pod, sliced down lengthwise
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
115gr. of caster sugar
2 lemons, the juice and the zest

For the caramel sauce:
175gr. of caster sugar
4 tbsp of water

For the syrup:
1 tbsp of liquid glucose
2 tbsp of caster sugar
1 large orange, the juice and the zest
2 tbsp of Grand Marnier liqueur (or other with orange flavour)
1 tbsp of orange juice

You will also need:
2 tbsp of melted butter
1 tbsp of very fine caster sugar
the peel from 2 oranges, in fine strips and some fresh spearmint leaves for garnishing

Method:
Brush 6 ramekins (100ml each) with the melted butter and sprinkle the bottom of each one with the caster sugar.

For the caramel:
Put the sugar and the water in a saucepan in medium heat and stir until it is dissolved and becomes a syrup. Then turn the heat up and cook the syrup until it is brown in colour and reaches to a caramel stage. Divide the caramel equally into the ramekins and leave aside.

For the cream:
Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Combine cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan and simmer over low heat just until bubbly.

In a bowl beat the egg yolks and the whole eggs with the sugar until they become pale in colour and creamy. Add the juice and the zest of the lemon and mix well. Empty the egg mixture into the saucepan with the cream and beat with an egg beater vigorously until the ingredients are well blended.

Pass this new mixture through a fine sieve (discard the vanilla pod) into a bowl and then divide equally into the ramekins. Cover each one with some foil.

Place the ramekins in a spacious oven pan and fill it with water covering up to ¾ of the moulds. Put in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes, until the cream is cooked and thickened. Take out of the oven and once they are cold put in the fridge.

For the syrup:
Combine the liquid glucose and the sugar in a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon, over low heat, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the orange zest and the liqueur and ignite with a match. Once the flames are lifted pour over with the orange juice. Leave the syrup to simmer until it is thickened and then take off the heat.

Invert the creams onto 6 dessert plates. Garnish on top with the spearmint leaves and the orange strips. Pour over with the syrup and serve.