summer creme caramel
ingredients Š 4/6 servings
1 pint milk
5 eggs
250 g sugar
100g raspberry jam
1 vanilla bean
fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, whatever)


· make a caramel with 200 g sugar and a couple of spoons of water
· the sugar will start boiling and then will turn golden
· when gold, itÕs caramel
· careful Š itÕs HOT
· cover the bottom and sides of an oven pan with the caramel
· careful Š itÕs really very, very HOT
· in a salad bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining 50g sugar
· bring milk to boil in a pan, with vanilla split lengthways in it
· take off the fire, and scrape vanilla to get all the little back dots into the milk
· pour milk onto eggs, beating swiftly
· pour mixture onto caramel
· place oven pan into a bigger dish, filled with water (bain-marie)
· cook in very low oven (160” - T3) for about 50 minutes
· the creme is ready when the top is slightly brown
· take out of the oven and water dish Š and leave to cool for 30 minutes
· turn around on serving dish 
· (the caramel is going to run everywhere, you can wipe it clean later)


TO SERVE
· warm the raspberry jam a little and spread over the creme
· decorate with fresh berries

et voilˆ!
 

Wine
For the dessert, the choices are both more open and more traditional. Fresh red berries demand champagne. You should choose a semi-dry, if possible 1996, we have selected some reasonably priced bottles; maybe a Philippe Janisson grande rŽserve. Or a CuvŽe prestige Baron-FuentŽ with a slightly burnt aroma and sweet berry nose. If the dinner is an important event, go for a Bollinger R.D. 1988. And if it is the evening of your life, then choose Dom PŽrignon 1990 from Mo‘t & Chandon, a rare and wonderful rosŽ, with a note of liquorice.
Should you dislike bubbles, you can opt for a muscat: a classic Rivesaltes or an original Saint-Jean de Minervois (Chateau de Jau 1999, Domaine de Nidolres 1998).