Indulge in the creamy baked Hojicha Purin, complemented by the gentle bitterness of hojicha-infused caramel. This Japanese Hojicha purin is going to elevate your expectations of pudding, flan and crème caramel.
You might also like Hojicha Viennese Cookie or Sesame Creme Brûlée.
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What is Purin?
Purin (プリン, 布丁) is a type of Japanese custard dessert that has become quite popular both in Japan and internationally. It is known for its smooth, jiggly and creamy texture. Purin is often prepared in individual serving cups or ramekins. After setting and chilling, it is usually unmolded up side down onto a plate, revealing the custard with the bitter sweet caramel sauce on top. The term "purin" is derived from the English word “pudding”, but the two things are completely different.
The misunderstanding of pudding
In Taiwan, when somebody mentions “布丁”, which in English is translated into “pudding”, people actually think about Japanese purin because it is introduced to Taiwan from Japan. However, if you tell people in the US or UK about pudding, what they think about is some kind of custard dessert or cake. It could be sweet or, in some case, savory like blood pudding and Yorkshire pudding. So what exactly is pudding?
On the website Atlas Obscura, it says “The word, pudding, derives from boudin, a French word generally referring in modern times to sausage. These days your typical Christmas pudding is steamed, but up until the 20th century it was more typical to wrap it in cloth and let it dry for weeks, or months—just like a sausage.” In British, “pudding” could be a radial category. Radial Category is a way of organizing concepts or ideas where there is a central core, and various related chains of information grouped in that concept (Lakoff, 1987). Another article on the Great British Mag - Why do Brits call dessert pudding? - says that “ Brits use the word ‘pudding’ to refer to dessert. If they are going to serve you an actual pudding they will specify the type of pudding – for example, sticky toffee pudding.”
Back to our topic, pudding. Besides purin, I didn’t know what pudding was until I moved to US. When somebody asked me if I can make Banana Pudding (like Magnolia Bakery’s), I thought it’s a banana-flavored flan-like dessert. Pudding in the US refers to some kind of soft custard. It could be any sweet flavor, it could be mixed with fresh fruit, cracker and cake, but it is not purin because purin here is called “flan”.
Flan, Crème Caramel or Purin?
During Meji era, Western culture was gradually flowing into Japan. Crème caramel was particularly popular, and it has remained widely popular in the form of purin to this day. They even have Purin’s Day (May 25th) in Japan. Purin and crème caramel are fundamentally the same thing, but the name is mixed with the English word, pudding. However, in the US, pudding refers to custard dessert, and the closest thing here is flan. Just like purin, flan is baked custard that has caramel on the bottom. The texture and the flavor are very similar to purin. Unlike the crème caramel which contains heavy cream, Spanish uses only milk, sometimes mixed with evaporated milk and condensed milk in some Latin recipe. Another fun fact about flan is that “flan” in France is a baked custard pie. Kinda of like a egg tart or creme brûlée in a pie without caramelized sugar.
Ingredients in Hojicha Purin
- Hojicha - I use hojicha powder for the purin itself and the hojicha tea leaf for caramel. Choose the high quality hojicha powder and tea leaf for the best flavor.
- Granulated Sugar - Granulated sugar add the sweetness and is the best for making caramel.
- Water - When making caramel, you need water (tea) to stop the caramelization.
- Salt - Add a little salt in caramel to balance out the sweetness.
- Milk and Heavy Cream - The combination of milk and heavy cream results in a custard that is both creamy and silky. The fats in the cream contribute to the smoothness, while the milk provides a lighter base.
- Egg - Egg helps set the custard during the baking process, giving it a firm yet creamy consistency.
- Egg Yolk - Egg yolks are rich in fat, which adds an extra layer of creaminess to the custard. Egg yolk also adds a yellow tint to the purin.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Hojicha Caramel?
Infuse the hojicha tea leaf in 3 tablespoon of hot water for 5 minutes, or microwave for 20 seconds. Strain the tea.
Cook the sugar and 1 tablespoon of cold water in a sauce pan over medium heat until it reach a rich amber color. Keep a close eye on it to avoid burning.
Add the strained tea slowly. Be very careful cause the steam can be very hot.
Pour the hojicha-infused caramel into your molds or ramekins. Let it cool and solidify.
How to make Hojicha Purin (custard)?
Mix sugar and hojicha powder.
In a saucepan, heat the milk and heavy cream together until it’s almost boiling. (You can see a skin forms on the surface.)
Add 2 tablespoon of warm cream into the hojicha sugar mixture, and stir until it’s smooth.
Mix egg yolks and eggs.
Combine warm cream, egg mixture and hojicha mixture together. Blend with the hand blender for smoother custard.
Strain the mixture.
I got about 450 ml purin mixture.
Gently pour the hojicha purin mixture over the cooled caramel layer in the molds.
Bake them in a hot bath at 300°F for 55 minutes depends on the size of your molds. Place the molds in the refrigerator and let the purin set for at least 2 hours.
To demold, bath the purin mold in hot water for 1 minute to soften the caramel. Gently slide the pairing knife between the mold and the purin. Place a plate on top of the mold. Then flip the mold and give it a little shake.
Equipment
4 oz. ramekins are what I use here.
Hand blender helps emulsify the egg , milk, cream and sugar.
A spatula is useful for scraping all the liquid and also help you pour the purin mixture into molds.
Storage
Cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from absorbing odors. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips
Choose the right cups! I like to bake my purin for individual servings, so I wouldn’t bake in a cup bigger than 5 oz. Baking in smaller cups also means shorter baking time. There are all kind of material you can use to bake purin. As long as they are oven-safe, it can be glass, porcelain or metal. Metal cups might also short the baking time, so try baking for 45 minutes first, and add more time if needed.
Pour the purin with the help of the spatula! Even though the caramel is chilled and set in the molds, the warm purin mixture can still soften the caramel and break the layer.
Recipe FAQ
If you only have hojicha powder, substitute the 1 teaspoon of hojicha tea leaf in the caramel with ½ teaspoon of hojicha powder. If you only have hojicha tea leaf, substitute the 1 teaspoon of hojicha powder in the purin with 1 tablespoon of tea leaf. Infuse the tea leaf with milk and heavy cream. Strain it before mixing with egg mixture.
Granulated sugar is well-suited for caramelization, because it melts and caramelizes more gradually than some other sugar varieties. Although it is recommended to use granulated sugar for making caramel, you can substitute the sugar in purin with different sugar for more flavor.
Similar to crème brûlée. If you shake the tray, purin should be jiggly but not liquidly especially the center of the purin.
Yes, you can use black tea, earl grey or even mixed tea. If you are using tea leaf, infuse the tea into milk and cream, and strain before mixing with egg mixture.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe Card
Hojicha Purin
Equipment
- 4 4oz. ramekins
Ingredients
Hojicha Caramel
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 teaspoon hojicha tea leaf
- 3 tablespoon hot water
Hojicha Purin (custard)
- 250 g milk
- 80 g heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon hojicha powder
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 2 whole egg
- 2 egg yolk
Instructions
Hojicha Caramel
- Brew: Infuse the hojicha tea leaf in 3 tablespoon of hot water for 5 minutes, or microwave for 20 seconds. Strain the tea.
- Caramelize: Cook the sugar and 1 tablespoon of cold water in a sauce pan over medium heat until it reach a rich amber color.
- Add: Add the strained tea slowly. Be very careful cause the steam can be very hot.
- Set: Pour the hojicha-infused caramel into your molds or ramekins. Let it cool and solidify.
Hojicha Purin (custard)
- Warm: In a saucepan, heat the milk and heavy cream together until it’s almost boiling. (You can see a skin forms on the surface.)
- Mix: Mix sugar and hojicha powder. Add 2 tablespoons warm cream into the hojicha sugar mixture, and stir until it’s smooth.
- Mix: Mix egg yolks and eggs.
- Combine: Combine warm cream, egg mixture and hojicha mixture together. Blend with the hand blender for smoother custard (This is an extra step.)
- Strain: Strain the mixture.
- Pour: Gently pour the hojicha purin mixture over the cooled caramel layer in the molds.
- Bake: Bake them in a hot bath at 300°F for 55 minutes depends on the size of your molds.
- Chill: Place the molds in the refrigerator and let the purin set for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Flip: To demold, bath the purin mold in hot water for 1 minute. Gently slide the pairing knife between the mold and the purin. Place a plate on top of the mold. Then flip the mold and give it a little shake.
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