Last week after looking in my refrigerator…I had quite a bit of milk. My little granddaughter wasn’t coming over to visit for a few days and there was just no way that I could drink that much milk! After contemplating what I should do with all of it…I remembered…baked custard. I love baked custard! It’s quick and easy…a perfect thing to have in the “frig” for a snack or dessert.
Why did I have so much milk…? I already had a gallon then I found a source for raw milk and bought another gallon at a local dairy. I had a little left and needed to use it.
But while I’m rambling on…let’s get back to the custard. So I grabbed my glass batter bowl with the measurements on the outside and poured in the milk. I had enough for 2 recipes of baked custard…I quickly made the decision without a blink of my eye…
Shoot yeah!
No problem…I could practically eat all that myself…!
This is simple…add the sugar…a little salt…whisk in the eggs…and you’re ready to go!
But wait…remember who you’re dealing with here…nothing is easy for me…my life is Murphy’s Law! This is the part where things start to go wrong…
I had about 8 cups of milk…the batter bowl holds eight cups…but there’s a little room at the top of the bowl. Although I had this little niggling feeling of intuitive perception…a little voice inside my head…warning me…”you need a bigger bowl”…I tossed that aside and blundered on. Poured in the sugar and salt….still a little room…cracked all the eggs into glass measuring cup…thought to stupid self…I think it will work…I should have room to whisk them in… if I’m careful…
It started to run over…egg and milk mixture all over the countertop…had to pour a little out into another measuring cup. Finished whisking in eggs in batter bowl…
Got out all my custard cups and spray them with cooking spray…then dipped a little out into custard cups…added remaining custard in other measuring cup to batter bowl…then filled remaining cups. Why do I make things so difficult?
Sprinkled them with cinnamon and grated a little fresh nutmeg on the tops of each.
Then you place the filled custard cups in a large dish with about an inch of water…I made so much this took two large Pyrex glass pans. You really should place the glass dish with water on the oven rack and set your custard cups in it. But not me…I went ahead and set them in the dish…and lifted it into the oven. It worked out OK…but that could have been a disaster itself.
Now…the only thing about baked custard…it needs to cook slow…about 300º…any higher it will be tough…curdled…not good! Just take a deep breath…use your will power…self control and give it the time it needs. You can wait and it will be worth it.
Cook them about 45 minutes or until you insert a knife into one and it comes out clean. Carefully remove pan from oven. You can let it cool a bit or you can be like me and scorch your fingers trying to get those little custard cups out. Set them on a wire rack or cutting board and let them cool. Then wrap each one with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold…several hours…or you can be like me and make enough to eat as they chill…but if you just want to take my word…let them chill for at least 4 hours or better yet…overnight.
They will last in the refrigerator for several days and I think they are delicious…I hope you will too!
Here’s your recipe:
Baked Custard
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Cinnamon and/or nutmeg
Whisk together all ingredients until well mixed. Use cooking spray or melted butter to coat custard cups. Fill with custard mixture and sprinkle tops with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Place cups in large baking dish with 1 inch of water. Bake at 300º for approximately 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into custard comes out clean. Cool and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
One more note…just for your info…there are pros and cons…it’s your own choice…but if you want to know…
For several years I have wanted to find a dairy to buy raw milk. If you’ve never had raw milk…it’s delicious and has many more nutrients than the pasteurized milk we are accustomed to drinking. There’s lots of controversy out there…the pros and cons…and you do have to be careful these days. But raw milk…if you can find a reliable source…is worth it! Here’s a couple of links you might find interesting just to educate yourself about the subject.
I promise to get off the pudding and custard bandwagon and go on to other recipes…my only excuse…I love baked custard!
Have fun in the kitchen….
Leah
First of all, I have been meaning to say that when I cook my kitchen looks nothing like the pictures of your nice neat counters…but why I am telling you that? You know that from first hand experience! It makes me want to sit on your barstool and watch you cook again.
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The recipe sounds delicious! Oh my I can’t count the times I’ve run the bowl over adding ingredients. Makes me so very mad and then I dirty up several more items before I get my recipe finished. I always think that glass 4 cup measuring cup is bigger than it really is! ha! There’s no telling what kind of mess I could make with an 8 cup measuring cup. ha! Keep the funny stories coming.
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