Recipe For Custard

CUSTARD

Steps:

• Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
• When the cornstarch is dissolved, slowly add the rest of the milk and sugar, and cook over moderate heat until the sauce starts to thicken and comes to a boil.
• Remove from heat.
• In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with a fork.
• Take a cup of the sauce, and slowly add to the eggs, beating briskly as you pour.
• Return the egg/sauce mixture to the saucepan, stirring into the hot sauce.
• Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat, and add the vanilla extract.
• Pour custard into a jug or pitcher, and serve.
• Tip: To prevent custard forming a skin as it cools, cover jug with plastic wrap.

BAKED CUSTARD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• In medium bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt with wire whisk or fork. Gradually stir in milk. Pour into six 6-ounce custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Place cups in 13x9-inch pan on oven rack. Pour very hot water into pan to within 1/2 inch of tops of cups (see box, below).
• Bake about 45 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Remove cups from water. Cool about 30 minutes. Unmold and serve warm, or refrigerate and unmold before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

HOMEMADE CUSTARD

Steps:

• Put the cream and milk into a large pan and gently bring to just below boiling point. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla. Gradually pour the hot milk mixture onto the sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
• Wipe out the saucepan and pour the mixture back into it. Heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon (see Steps 1 and 2, for stirring tips) until the custard is thickened, but before any lumps form. Eat hot or cold.

SIMPLE CUSTARD

Steps:

• Cook and stir milk, vanilla extract, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove mixture from heat before it comes to a boil.
• Whisk eggs, sugar, and cornstarch together in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
• Set saucepan back over low heat. Pour in egg mixture slowly, whisking constantly, until custard thickens enough to coat the bottom of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes.

BASIC VANILLA CUSTARD

Steps:

• Have eggs ready in a bowl, and set aside where it will be within reach.
• Using a whisk, combine milk, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan over medium heat on stovetop. Allow milk to scald (heat to the point when tiny bubbles form around edges of pan). Whisk occasionally to prevent cornstarch from clumping on bottom edges of pan.
• Remove milk mixture from heat, preferably to a burner that's turned off.
• Mix about 2 tablespoons of scalded milk mixture into eggs using whisk, then introduce eggs into milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking milk mixture constantly.
• Immediately return pan to heat and whisk gently until custard thickens, another two or three minutes. Do not allow to boil. (If you find that you have egg white strands in custard, feel free to pass it through a fine-mesh sieve into a different bowl now.)
• Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.

EGG CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a bowl until completely combined. Pour egg mixture into 6 custard cups; sprinkle tops with nutmeg. Place cups in a baking pan and fill pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the custard cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until custards are set, about 1 hour. Cool completely.

BAKED CUSTARD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a teakettle with water, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine milk and vanilla bean, if using. Heat just until warm, then remove vanilla bean, and reserve for another use. If not using bean, add vanilla extract after milk is heated.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Pour in vanilla-infused milk, whisking until smooth. Strain mixture into a pie plate of 4 to 5 cups capacity (about 9 inches in diameter). Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Place pie plate in a large shallow baking dish, and fill with boiling water to come halfway up side of pie plate. Place in oven and bake until custard is set, about 1 hour. Remove baking pan from oven, and transfer pie plate to a rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve while slightly warm, preferably about 30 minutes after removing from oven.

BAKED CUSTARD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, spices and vanilla. Blend in milk. Pour into a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Place baking dish in a cake pan in oven; add 1 in. water to pan. , Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near middle comes out clean.