Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche {Fresh Orange Crème Caramel}

This Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche is a fresh and citrus-y take on the classic vanilla Parisian brasserie and restaurant dessert. 

This dessert has a "fancy" feel, but it is super easy to make and you can make it ahead of time. It's perfect for both an elegant or casual dinner party too. 

All you need are five ingredients, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt to make the traditional vanilla crème caramel. For this citrus-y version, you will also need some juice and zest, along with an orange liqueur. 

About Crème Caramel:

Traditional French crème caramel is a custardy dessert that is lighter than crème brulee. It's made with whole milk rather than cream. It's typically baked in a ramekin with the carmel added first and the custard over the caramel. It is served by inverting the ramekin over a small plate so that the layer of clear caramel flows over the top of the custard. 

In this case, I wanted to bake these in mini Dutch ovens (cocottes) and serve them with the caramel sauce on the bottom. You just spoon down to the bottom of the cocette and add a little of the caramel to each bite. Plus, you can get creative with the garnishes. 

Hopefully the French food police won't come after me! Besides, the mini Dutch ovens are made in France!

Ingredients in These Crème Caramel Desserts:

Milk: Be sure to use whole milk. For a slightly richer dessert, you could add a bit of cream, but not too much. 

Eggs: You will need six eggs along with 2 egg whites.

Sugar: Both to make the caramel and for the custard. 

Vanilla: Use real vanilla or vanilla beans. 

Salt. 

Oranges: Both the zest and the fresh squeezed juice. You can use oranges, tangerines, or tangelos, whatever is available. Blood oranges would also be great for their color and slightly bitter flavor. 

Orange Liqueur: I used Grand Marnier, a blend of cognac and bitter orange. You could also use Cointreau, orange Curaçao, or a good quality triple sec. 

To Make These Crème Caramel Desserts:

First, you make the caramel sauce that will be at the bottom of the dish or ramekin. Simply cook granulated sugar until it melts and begins to turn amber. Stir it first to get it going, but then cook it, without stirring until it is clear and caramel colored. You can swirl the pan over the stove to even out the temperature. 

Next, divide the caramel among the Dutch ovens or ramekins. It will harden but will later turn liquidy after baking. 

After that, mix the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, zest, vanilla, and orange juice and ladle the custard mixture into the baking dishes. Unlike most Crème Caramel recipes, you do not need to cook and strain the custard mixture before baking. The mixture will still set. Plus, you don't have to temper the eggs. 

Finally, set the small pots into a roasting pan with a water bath and bake them, uncovered, for about an hour. 

You can serve these warm, or refrigerate them to serve later. 

Equipment You May Need:

As mentioned, I used six enameled cast iron Mini Dutch Ovens with an eight ounce capacity. They have little lids that I used for covering the cooked Crème Caramels while they chilled. The little pots are also great for making individual chicken pies and other dishes. 

You can also find mini Dutch ovens in stoneware. They're really hard to resist. 

For a more traditional Crème Caramel that you can easily invert before serving, use an 8 to 10 ounce ramekin. 

These Crème Caramel desserts are perfect for making ahead of time. You can actually make them up to four days in advance. You can serve them cold or remove them from the refrigerator about twenty minutes ahead of serving to take the chill off. 

If you like, you can garnish them with a thin slice of an orange or even a sprinkling of poppy seeds. 

To serve them the traditional way, bake them in ramekins and dip the ramekins in hot water before inverting them onto a plate. Let the caramel sauce flow over the top of the custard. 

This week, the From Our Dnner Table Group is celebrating in advance of French Gastronomy Day, Le Fête de la Gastronomie, which is usually in the first day of Autumn. It is a national food festival celebrating all things related to French food and cooking, along with traditions related to the "art and practice of preparing and enjoying food." 

French Gastronomy Day Recipes: 

• Crème Caramel à l'Orange Fraîche from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Escargots from Art of Natural Living
• French Beignets from That Recipe
• Mushroom Lentil Bourguignon from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 5 HourTotal time: 6 H & 20 M

This Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche is a fresh and citrus-y take on the classic vanilla Parisian brasserie and restaurant dessert. 

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 oranges or 6 to 7 tangerlines (enough to produce 1 cup of fresh juice
• 450 grams (2 1/4 cups) granulated sugar, divided
• 6 large eggs plus two egg whites, room temperature
• 3 cups whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
• Orange slices for garnish

Instructions

1. s Heat the oven to 300 degrees F and bring enough water to a boil to create a water bath that will go half way up the sides of the custard dishes in a roasting pan.
2. Zest one or two of the oranges, enough to produce 1 tablespoon of zest. Squeeze enough oranges to produce 1 cup of fresh juice.
3. To make the caramel sauce, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar to a 2 quart saucepan and heat over medium low heat to liquefy, stirring to smooth the mixture as it melts. Quit stirring and let the mixture cook until it bubbles around the edges and turns to a dark caramel color. Divide the hot mixture among the 6 dishes. Allow the caramel to harden.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and egg whites. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk with the eggs. Add the milk, salt, vanilla, zest, orange juice, and liqueur and whisk thoroughly.
5. Divide the mixture among the cocottes. Place the cocottes, uncovered, in the roasting pan and place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven. Add the hot water for the water bath to the roasting pan until it comes up halfway.
6. Bake the Crème Caramels for 55-60 minutes, until just set.
7. To serve them warm, let them cool for 15 minutes before serving. To serve them chilled, let them sit at room temperature for one hour, and then place them in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
8. Garnish with thin orange slices and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

423

Fat (grams)

4 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2 g

Carbs (grams)

89 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

88 g

Sugar (grams)

88 g

Protein (grams)

8 g

Cholesterol (grams)

15 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/08/creme-caramel-lorange-fraiche-fresh.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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Recipe adapted from Le French Oven by Hillary Davis (2015). 

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