Easy Chai Creme Caramel (Aka Chai Flan De Leche)

BlueDiva's Note:

This is a fast and easy dessert to finish off a spicy meal or add an exotic twist on a classic dessert. It's made from a mix, but no one will ever know! I use Dr. Oetker brand dessert mix, but any brand will do, so long as the box yields 3-4 individual servings. When I have dinenr guests, I like to make this ahead of time so I I can enjoy dinner without having to run back to the kitchen to prepare dessert. Use whole spices so you can skim the spices out of the custard and keep the smooth creamy texture and color of the individual flans. Follow the directions for whatever kind of mix you use, and just be sure to add the spices to the milk as soon as possible to get maximum flavor infused into the custard mix.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 (105 g) packages Dr. Oetker caramel creme dessert mix (Dr. Oetker is vegetarian)
• 400 ml milk
• 1 cinnamon stick , broken into several pieces
• 4 whole green cardamom pods
• 2 slices fresh ginger or 2 slices candied ginger

Directions:

1. Divide caramel sauce equally into ramekins, one for each serving. Make sure a thin coat of caramel covers the bottom of each ramekin. Set these aside.
2. Dissolve contents of custard mix into 125mL of milk and whisk until blended.
3. Put remaining milk and whole spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Reduce heat slightly and add custard mixture, whisking vigorously.
5. Bring just to a boil again, and keep stirring so no lumps form. The allow to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Skim spices out of liquid. (Or pour mixture through small mesh strainer in the next step.).
7. Gently pour liquid into ramekins, making sure not to disturb the caramel coating the base of each one.
8. Chill ramekins until set. (This takes approximately 45 minutes in my refridgerator.)
9. Remove ramekins from refridgerator. Put a serving plate against top of a ramekin, , hold them together, and flip them upside down in a fast motion so the creme caramel flops out of the ramekin and onto the serving plate. Let it sit for a minute to allow the caramel to run over the custard before removing ramekin. Repeat this for each serving. (This is quite easy and the result looks impressive.).
10. Enjoy!