Baked Custard

I’ve had a hankering for custard this last week. You know those cravings that hit after dinner, when you passed up an offer of ice cream but still feel like something sweet. The kind of yearning that niggles like an itch for days until you scratch it.

Perhaps a little melodramatic but still, an appetite for creamy, golden, vanilla infused custard is not something to be ignored.

 Custard and I have a long relationship. My Nana was the source of my love affair with custard. Every Christmas great jugs of the stuff would adorn the table dotted with various desserts. A pot of golden syrup dumplings was always served with a puddle of golden vanilla flavoured goodness. Apple crumble was always matched with it as I do now. It’s a dessert passion that I brought home from Nana’s too though my mum wasn’t blessed with the same homespun cooking skills so store bought custard it was at home. It was a very close second, cold thick custard that could be dolloped from the carton one scoop after another in a bowl. I chose that over ice cream every time as a child over sliced ripe bananas, fresh berries or preserved peaches and of course on plum pudding at Christmas.

 When I then went on to have my own children custard re-entered my life. A baby food form was one of the boys first foods, the older of the two sometimes living off it. They always loved it and like me would choose some (store bought from a carton) for dessert, maybe it was a good way to hide the fruit. One night, like me, my then little boys had a craving for some custard after dinner and asked if we had any. We didn’t, but feeling inspired with my ever growing cooking skills I pulled out my Stephanie Alexander Cook’s Compendium, the Australian bible of cookery, and started making some home made custard. Channelling my inner Nana it came together perfectly my heart swelling with nostalgia and joy to be passing this little culinary tradition on to my boys. Well dear reader my excitement was short lived. Two cute little noses turned up at the golden yellow bowl of creamy goodness in front of them. “Hmm I don’t like this….Hmmm yuck,” was the resounding chorus. I was overcome with shock and disheartened. I continued morosely reaching for the bought variety at the supermarket, sadly bemoaning my failure at instilling a love of home-made stirred custard. Indeed Boy 2’s love was so great that upon finding a little tub of custard in his lunchbox one day in school he was heard to exclaim loudly “there’s custard in here!’ much the amusement of his teacher recognising a mum who’d runout of yoghurt that morning.

 Fast forward a number of years later and I was determined to prove them wrong. Finding this one (shared with author permission) in what was then a new book and has remained a firm favourite, I lovingly but determinedly stirred those eggs and cream until they coagulated to a thickly unctuous vanilla dessert. I chilled my creation and without telling them served it for dessert. And my friends I won the custard war!!! It’s still one of our favourite custard recipes…yes plural, we now are a family of home-made custard devotees.

 So back to my custard craving. With dreams of rivers flowing golden with silken custard I was struck with another chapter in the encyclopaedia of custard memories, baked custard. A dish my Great-Nan used to make. Inspired by some reading I’ve been doing this week about baking and all it’s ingredients I thought I’d give it a go. Unlocking the secret to why I didn’t particularly like her baked custard…too eggy… yet strangely suffering a want for it I started tinkering with some ideas and after seeing a few washed down the sink I arrived at a pudding to satisfy that craving and without too much work.

 Now to try it on the boys when they’re home next, I’d best practice lots until they’re next here…practice after all makes perfect.

 And because blueberries are especially good at the moment I whipped up a little Lemon and Vanilla Scented Blueberry compote to go alongside.

Ingredients:

 3 eggs

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla paste

2 strips lemon peel 5cm long each. *Using a veg peeler peel a lemon top to bottom twice.

Pinch of salt

500ml pure cream. The runny type not the whipping type.

Nutmeg for grating on top

 Blueberry Compote:

 120 gm fresh blueberries

The lemon from the custard, remaining rind and juice.

1 Tb caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste.

 In a small saucepan combine all ingredients and allow to macerate for at least 15 minutes. Gently warm over low heat until the juices start to bubble then increase slightly to low-med and cook until sugar dissolved and juice slightly thickened. This will only take a few minutes so watch it carefully stirring frequently. Tip into a bowl and refrigerate.

Method - Custard:

 Preheat oven to 160c no fan this time. If your oven is fan only pre-heat to 140c. Place a glass or ceramic dish in a roasting pan. Set the kettle to boil, we’ll be using this boiled water to cook the custard later.

 In a large bowl, combine eggs and egg yolks, a large spoonful of the sugar and salt and mix with a fork breaking up the whites and combining the two well. We’re adding some sugar here to use it’s coarseness to agitate the eggs and help break them up. We want to mix them well but not aerate and froth up hence the fork and not a whisk.

 In a small saucepan combine the cream, vanilla, remaining sugar and lightly scrunched up lemon peel pieces. Stirring constantly, warm over medium-low heat. The sugar will be almost dissolved and the lite thread of steam rising up will be gently lemon and vanilla scented. We’re only warming the milk not boiling it. No bubbles on the edges even, just a light waft of steam when you swirl the pot. If you’re a geek like me that’s 70 degrees with a digital thermometer, avery handy addition to your kitchen drawer.

 Returning to the bowl of eggs, using a whisk mixing constantly, slowly pour the warm milk in a small splash at a time. Whisk lightly between splashes. After 3-4 splashes pour the rest in slowly whisking continuously with your other hand until completely combined.

 With a strainer in one hand pour the custard through into the dish you’re cooking in. Generously grate fresh nutmeg all over the surface. Place the roasting dish containing the custard dish in the oven and pour the boiling water in the roasting pan creating a bath coming halfway up the custard dish. Close the oven and increase to 170c and cook for 25 minutes. It will be firm with a very slight wobble.

 Allow to cool to at least room temp or serve cold with your favourite fruit or Blueberry Compote.