Caramel Custards

So, here is yet another recipe from the new issue of Everyday Food, by Martha Stewart. I saw this recipe and I immediately thought of my grandma. She absolutely loves caramel in any shape or form. She always says she would eat a grasshopper if it was covered in caramel. I'm not that big of a fanatic, but I do love caramel and these were absolutely delicious.

You make a caramel syrup with sugar and water that you bring to a soft boil until it turns an amber color. The tricky thing about boiling sugar is that as soon as it starts to turn amber it can go from caramely to burnt in about two seconds. So be careful and watch it constantly. Once you get a good caramel color, you immediately add half and half and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Then it's time to beat up some eggs, more sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Once the cream mixture has cooled slightly, you stir it into the beaten eggs and then pour it into some ramekins.
Here is the caramel custard once it had baked and then chilled in the refrigerator over night. My grandma and I ate some straight from the oven and they were sooo good. She prefers the custard hot as opposed to chilled.
Anyway, I did a little experimenting and topped one of the puddings with an even layer of white sugar and then put it under the broiler to give it a nice crackle top. It was really good this way as well. Any way you serve it, this is one creamy and delicious dessert.