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Purin (Japanese Custard Pudding)

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Prep15 minutes
Cook35 minutes
Total50 minutes
Serves: 8 small puddings
Purin is a silky and smooth Japanese-style custard pudding, similar to Crème Caramel. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
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Ingredients

For the Caramel

  • 70 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
  • 15 ml (1 tablespoon) water
  • 7 ½ ml (½ tablespoon) water

For the Custard

  • 330 ml (1 ⅓ cup) whole milk, (full cream milk)
  • 150 ml (⅔ cup) heavy cream, (double cream)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 80 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
  • ⅛ teaspoon cornflour, (US: cornstarch)

Instructions 

To Make the Caramel

  1. Place the sugar and 1 tablespoon of water into a small saucepan, and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
  2. As the sugar starts to dissolve, swirl the pan slightly so that any remaining sugar is absorbed by the water, and so the mixture can caramelise evenly. Do not use any utensil to stir the caramel.
  3. Watch the caramel carefully because once the syrup starts to gain a little colour, it will caramelise very quickly.
  4. Once the caramel is a deep golden colour (similar to a dark honey) take the pan off the heat. It will darken further in the next step, so keep this in mind because the darker the caramel, the less sweet and more bitter it will taste.
  5. Stand back and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of water to the caramel. The caramel will splutter so be careful!
  6. Once the spluttering has stopped and the caramel is not bubbling so furiously anymore, carefully give the pan another swirl so that the caramel is evenly distributed.
  7. While the caramel is still hot, pour the caramel into 8 little glass jars, about 1/2 tablespoon per jar. I have used glass jars with a capacity of 125 ml/ 1/2 cup. The caramel will set while you get on with the rest of the recipe.

To Make the Custard

  1. Pour the milk, cream and vanilla into a saucepan, and bring it just to the boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Once the mixture starts to bubble, immediately take the pan off the heat.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and cornflour (US: cornstarch).
  4. Add a few splashes of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, quickly whisking as you do so. Then gradually whisk in the remaining milk mixture in a slow and steady stream.
  5. Pour the custard through a fine strainer into a large jug. The strainer will remove any pieces of cooked egg in the mixture, so that you will have a silky smooth custard.
  6. Set the jug aside for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.
  7. If, at this stage, the caramel in the jars have not set (i.e. you can see the caramel move as you swirl the jars), it probably means that your caramel was too thin (maybe you added too much water) or your room is very warm. Simply place the jars in the fridge for about 5 minutes for the caramel to set completely. See my Kitchen Tips below.
  8. Place the glass jars into a high-sided baking pan or an oven-proof saucepan. Pour the custard mixture into each glass jar.

To Bake the Puddings

  1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/300°F (with fan).
  2. Fill the baking pan with hot water (80°C/176°F) until it reaches halfway up the custard in the pots.
  3. Cover the whole pan tightly with foil, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the custards have set with the merest hint of a wobble.
  4. Remove the pots from the water bath, dry the glasses with a tea towel, and leave them to cool to room temperature.
  5. Cover each jar with a lid (if they come with lids), and place them in the fridge to set for a few hours, but overnight is best.
  6. Serve cold.

Kitchen Notes

  • RECIPE CREDIT
    This recipe is adapted from Hokkaido by Tim Anderson.
  • OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
    All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook.
  • CONVERSIONS
    To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition Information

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