Recipes: Creme caramel, panna cotta and other delicious desserts for spring

Whether it’s an Easter feast or a springtime party, my menus often conclude with a dessert of coconut cake or strawberry shortcakes. Winners, indeed. But a sweet, recent eat-athon at my house changed my plans.

In decades, past crème caramel was a frequent treat at my home. It’s a tradition that has mostly fallen by the wayside, for me, but a recent spring dinner party left me with the most delightful leftovers: a generous half portion stored in the fridge. My daughter and granddaughter stopped in for a quick visit, and the two of them, bit by bit, bowl by bowl, polished it off. Glee filled their faces. Sweet bliss.

Ah, crème caramel, that eggy caramel custard that bakes atop a layer of caramel. It’s baked in a bain-marie — the baking dish nestled into a hot water bath in the oven — then chilled and inverted onto a serving dish. The result: a welcome puddle of caramelized sugar coats the surface of the luscious custard.

It’s known as flan in Spanish-speaking countries, but because of our French heritage, we never call it that. It’s crème caramel, and its enthusiastic reception fueled a new look at custard cousins as potential spring dinner finales. Crème caramel, as well as panna cotta and posset, are all potential candidates, each showcasing an enticing creaminess — some with eggs, others without.

Fresh berries are the perfect accompaniment for these custard cousins, adding a contrast in texture and color. Best of all, they all can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.

This crème caramel recipe hails from the great Julia Child, who used the scraped seeds of vanilla beans in her version, although she noted a measurement for vanilla extract if beans weren’t available. (Given the very high price of vanilla beans, I’m going vanilla extract here.) The recipe calls for a 1-quart souffle dish, but you can use individual molds, such as 4 to 6-ounce ramekins, if you prefer.

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin. The cream may be flavored with coffee, vanilla or other delights. I love the tanginess that this version of panna cotta, a recipe by chef Michael Simon, offers. Whole milk Greek-style yogurt provides the alluring burst of flavor.

I like to serve it in small decorative glasses or ramekins, but unmolding the ramekins is an option. Just make sure you dip each thoroughly chilled ramekin three-quarters of the way in warm water before inverting it onto small dessert plates. (If you’re going for a trendy look, where the panna cotta sits at an angle in each glass, leaving room for berries or other garnishes, prop the glasses securely at an angle in the refrigerator as the panna cotta sets.)

We’ve gone French, Spanish and Italian so far. But the United Kingdom has its own version of a custard dessert for spring: lemon posset. This chilled British dessert with the plush texture of mousse comes together almost by magic with little more than cream, sugar and lemons — and a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s new cookbook, “The Complete Small Plates Cookbook,” published this winter. Using just the right proportion of sugar to lemon juice is the key to a smooth, luxurious consistency and a bright flavor that balances the richness of the cream.

Crème Caramel

Serves 6

CARAMEL:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

CUSTARD:

2½ cups whole milk

½ cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh berries, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Prepare caramel: Set a 1-quart ovenproof soufflé dish next to stove. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, place 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water; swirl to combine. Bring to simmer on medium-high heat.

Cook until syrup turns from clear to golden, swirling pan gently to ensure even browning, about 6 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan gently and constantly, until large, slow bubbles on mixture’s surface turn honey-caramel in color (do not burn), about 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove pan immediately from heat and cautiously pour caramel into soufflé dish (the caramel is more than 300 degrees and will burn you, if it touches your skin). Tilt soufflé dish to coat bottom. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to bottom third position. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, bring milk to simmer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a kettle of water to a simmer.

In a large mixing bowl using a whisk, beat sugar into eggs and egg yolks until well mixed, light and foamy. Continue constantly whisking, adding milk in a very thin stream of droplets. Stir in vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Strain through a fine sieve into the caramel-lined dish.

Set dish in a small roasting pan. Using the kettle, add enough very hot water to the outer pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Turn oven down to 325 degrees. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the blade of a thin knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cautiously remove soufflé dish from pan. Transfer to wire rack; cool to room temperature Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.

To unmold, slide a thin paring knife around entire dish perimeter, pressing knife against side of the dish. Hold a serving plate with generous rim over the top of the dish and invert it. Set plate on work surface and shake gently to release the custard. Serve chilled with fresh berries.

— Adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume One” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Alfred A. Knopf)

Vanilla Panna Cotta

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

2 cups heavy whipping cream

½ cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin (about ½ packet)

½ cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt

Sliced fresh strawberries or whole blueberries to garnish, or shaved chocolate or small sprigs of fresh mint or lavender

DIRECTIONS

Place cream in medium saucepan. Add sugar and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

In a separate bowl, sprinkle gelatin over milk and let stand until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture into the hot cream mixture until dissolved; stir in vanilla. Whisk in the yogurt.

Divide among 6 to 8 small glasses or 4-ounce ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Garnish with sliced strawberries or blueberries, or shaved chocolate, mint sprigs or lavender, as desired.

— Adapted from a recipe by chef Michael Simon, Food Network Magazine

Lemon Posset with Berries

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup (4½ ounces) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

About 1½ cups blueberries or raspberries to garnish

DIRECTIONS