“Chopsticks are one of the reasons the Chinese never invented custard.”
Custard is a divisive thing. Either you adore its smooth richness, or it makes you gag, it seems. I am in the former camp. Of all of my cravings, a perfect custard is the hardest to resist. Unlike a corn starch thickened pudding, a baked custard is thickened only with egg. The resulting texture as a firmness coupled with a velvety smoothness. Some salt is needed to brighten the flavors, too. Many recipes omit this, to their detriment. To achieve the perfect set, times and temperatures are critical.
As a keeper of both dairy cows, and laying birds, I often find myself with a glut of eggs and milk. What a drag, right? In my pursuit of the perfect baked custard, I have created the following recipe over the course of more than a hundred test runs. Each aspect has been tweaked to achieve a finally tuned result. The timing of the bake, in your oven, may vary slightly from the time listed here, due to variations in ovens, and dish shapes. The important thing is to bake until the center is soft set, but still loose. Take it too far, and the edges become scrambled eggs. Not far enough, and the center will be snotty. Once you achieve the perfect baking time, results will be predictable, as long as you use the same dishes, and the procedure outlined below.
In this variation, I use nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla for flavor. Rather than merely sprinkling nutmeg on top of the custard, I like to add my spices to the milk before the scald. The flavor becomes much more developed. It’s kind of like making milk tea. One could make a chai custard, I suppose, but that’s a whole other deal… Feel free to spice this however you like. Sometimes I prefer almond extract to the vanilla. Cinnamon is nice, too. If you like a super rich custard, substitute some or all of the milk with cream. One cool thing about using cardamom and nutmeg is that the cardamom sinks and the nutmeg floats.
If you find yourself with a glut of eggs, and are looking for more things to do with them, check out my ***pickled egg post***, too. This recipe works best in small souffle dishes like these:
but any small bowl will do. My mother used pyrex dishes, like these.
Baked Custard
Prep time 15 min.
Bake time 50 min.
Serves 4
Main Ingredients
3 cups whole milk
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup raw organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
3 eggs +1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Put a full kettle of water on to boil.
3. Place the milk, salt, sugar, and spices in a heavy sauce pan, and slowly warm it over medium heat.
4. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, or large measuring cup, and beat well.
5. Stir the milk, occasionally, until bubbles start to form around the edge. (This is known as "scalding" the milk. Before pasteurization, this step ensured safety of questionable milk. It is done here to ensure smoothness, and to start the custard out hot, in the oven, for a more even bake.)
6. Slowly drizzle the milk into the eggs, while whisking. This tempers the eggs so they don't scramble from the heat.
7. Add the vanilla.
8. Place four small dishes in a large baking dish (9"x 13").
9. Pour the custard into the dishes, through a small strainer to remove any unblended eggy bits.
10. Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the oven, and fill the dish half way with hot water from the kettle. This water bath prevents uneven baking.
11. Bake for 25-45 minutes, or until the centers are soft set, but still loose. The bake time is so open because the quality of the ingredients greatly effects the subtle result, and oven temperatures are not accurate. Fresh, raw, full fat (12%, at times) Jersey milk and fresh pastured eggs finish in 25 minutes. Store bought eggs and milk may take 45 minutes. What you are looking for is a soft set, such that everything jiggles when tapped, but is no longer liquid. If you see any souffle effect (lifting of the surface) you’ve over shot, but it will still be good. The first time you do this, set a timer for 25, and check every 5 minutes.
12. Remove the baking dish from the oven, carefully, as to avoid splashing.
13. Let the custard cool in the water bath for one hour.
14. Continue cooling on the counter for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 3 hours, or over night.
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