Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard Recipes

BERRIES WITH VANILLA CUSTARD

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, mix cream, egg yolks and sugar. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and a thermometer reads at least 160°. Do not allow to boil., Transfer to a bowl; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, until cold. Serve over fresh berries.

VANILLA CREAM CHEESE CUSTARD

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the milk, the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and the corn starch. Whisk until well blended.
• In a small sauce pan, heat the remaining 2 cups of milk with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the scraped vanilla seeds with the pod. Heat to a simmer then remove the pod and discard.
• While whisking, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture, making sure to whisk continually.
• Pour the entire custard mixture back into the pan and heat just until it thickens up, which should be very quickly.
• Reduce to low heat, add the softened cream cheese and beat with the whisk while cooking for about one minute to form a thick creamy custard.
• Pour into a large serving bowl (or individual ramekins). Cover with plastic wrap, pushing down on the plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the custard (this will prevent a skin from forming on the top.) Refrigerate and cool completely before serving.
• Spoon into individual serving dishes once chilled. Or, as we show in our photos, place the chilled and thickened custard into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe into individual serving dishes or martini glasses. Garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.

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.

CREAM CHEESE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the cream and milk to 175°; stir in sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into the eggs. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon. , Remove from the heat. Whisk in cream cheese until smooth. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.