Soul food: Rachel Khoo on crème caramel My first experience of a French dessert was eating crème caramel that came out of a packet. I would beg my mum for it, and she'd hide it in the fridge to stop me eating it all before dinner. I can still see the packaging: a red box with the crème part in one sachet and the caramel in another. Mum would pour it into moulds shaped like teddy bears and cars for me and my brother. I loved the smooth texture and its little wobble. I get my sweet tooth from my mum, who is from Austria. Summers there with my grandma and aunts involved big baking sessions making spiced biscuits and apple strudel. My savoury side comes more from my dad; he's Malaysian, so my mum had to learn to cook rendang curries and stir-fries. Growing up in south London, we ate a lot of spicy Asian food, then once in a while we'd have schnitzel or a roast. I've always loved baking and cake decorating: I set up a bakery in my sandpit, decorating my sand cakes with flowers and making people buy them for a few coppers. These days I make real crème caramel, heating the sugar to a rich brown colour and always adding a pinch of salt.