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
Caramel is one of my favorite things…its used in a variety of desserts and baking confections including candies and custards. Caramel is made by heating sugar very slowly to remove the water causing the molecules to break down and reform into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor.
That said…which is a little too scientific for me…
It’s just something every cook needs to learn. How to caramelize sugar..! Know there might be some controversy here…especially in the definition of caramel above…folks…its removing water…not adding water. You will read a variety of recipes for caramel that have you add water to the sugar and cook it till it browns. That for me is not caramel…for this reason. You just don’t get that wonderful flavor or color if you add water to your sugar…it’s just not the same. It is easier…but believe me…it’s just not as tasty as it can be if you leave your comfort zone and burn that sugar in the right way.
Now…this takes patience…along with your utmost attention to the task at hand. It doesn’t mean leaving the sugar on the burner to fend for itself while you send a text…take a call…or run to the bathroom.
You’ve gotta be right there…spoon…spatula…potholder…at hand…ready to move at just the right second. Cause let me tell you what…you’ve never seen trouble till you’ve seen…smelled…and had to clean up burnt to a crisp sugar. That stuff adheres to your cooktop…spoon…spatula…and pan…and makes it seem you would have to use a jackhammer to remove it.
Having said all that…this is what to do…
First…you need a really heavy pan. I use a heavy Calphlon 4 quart saucepan and have used cast iron cookware. Sugar burns very easily and if you will use a heavy pan you will have better results. Pour your sugar into the pan and cook over high heat until the sugar begins to melt and brown. Turn your heat down to medium high. Just swirl your pan around or you can use a wooden spoon or heat resistant spatula and stir the sugar. If you stir it…the sugar will clump…but keep on stirring and it will melt.
As the sugar melts it will start to turn a brown amberish color. This is where it gets a little tricky…you want it to cook enough to get that really caramel flavor…but not enough for it to burn. It should be this color…a clear dark coppery brown…when you start to see this color…remove your pan from the heat.
Set it aside and don’t worry …if you stirred it and you have the sugar clumps and they have not melted at this point…give it a minute…keep stirring and they will melt even if your pan is off the heat. If you are not sure about the color take the pan off the heat…you can always put it back on the heat if you want more color…but if its black…its burnt…ruined…throw it away and start over.
OK…now that you have your caramel…we are going to make caramel pudding. Stir your caramel a little as it is very hot to let it cool for a few minutes. Then add three cups of milk. Make sure your pan is still off the heat source…and don’t be alarmed by what is happening in your saucepan.
The caramel is going to be a hardened chunk in your milk and the whole chunk is probably adhered to your spoon. Put your saucepan back on medium heat and gently stir the mixture until the caramelized sugar begins to melt in the milk as it heats. After most of it is melted pour very slowly the remaining milk that you have whisked together with the cornstarch into the saucepan. Be sure and whisk the two mixtures as you pour. Whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Be sure that you are whisking so the pudding won’t stick and burn on the bottom of the pan.
At this point if you are a beginning cook take your pan off the burner and set it aside. Take a spoonful of the caramel mixture and whisk into the beaten egg yolks. Whisk in about two more spoonfuls to temper your eggs and then whisk the entire egg mixture into the thickening carmel mixture.
Put your pan back on the burner if you removed it and cook the mixture for a couple more minutes. Be sure and whisk as you cook it so it won’t burn on the bottom of the pan. Your pudding with thicken a little more as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add your butter and vanilla.
Whisk until very smooth and pour the pudding into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight. Pudding really takes on a more caramel flavor if it is chilled 24-48 hours.
You can also serve it with a big dollop of whipped cream or use the pudding to make the filling for a caramel pie!
From my kitchen to yours…Leah
