Vanilla Custard

I love custard. As a kid, my favorite donuts came with custard. My favorite cakes had a creamy custard filling. I would antagonize my mother for flan, just so I could enjoy that creamy, slippery feeling on my tongue.

Imagine my delight to learn that custard is insulting easy to make.



These ramekins were a gift from my mother. I remember when she brought them to me. I had just moved into my first apartment and here comes my mom with these onion/garlic-printed ramekins complete with tiny lids, each one carefully wrapped in paper towels. I shunned them. Vehemently. I wanted plain white ramekins like everyone else, not these loserific grandma soup bowls.

She slipped them into my cupboard anyway.

A friend packed my kitchenware when I was moving, so when I found them again at my new apartment, I huffed and shoved them into the back of my pantry. And today I madly cleaned out my pantry in search of them. Thanks to my mother's amazing foresight, I got to eat custard today.

And I think these garlic-printed ramekins are so much cooler than boring white ones. (Not to mention they look fab in my LIME GREEN BAKING DISH [Also a gift from my mother] <3)


Can't touch this

Vanilla Custard:

2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
½ cup white sugar
2 cups milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Nutmeg or cinnamon for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla together. Meanwhile, heat milk in a saucepan until it reaches a simmer. (Add cold milk to cold pot, then heat slowly. DO NOT add cold milk to a hot pan, unless you hate your pan and need an excuse to get a new one.)

When milk is hot, slowly add to egg mixture while whisking constantly. (Nice to have a helper at this point). Strain mixture and pour into three small ramekins placed into a large baking dish. Dust with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.

Fill the baking dish with boiling water until it reaches about ¾ of the ramekins. Bake for 40 minutes, until custard is set but slightly jiggly.

Remove from oven and let custard sit in the water for 30 minutes. Then remove from the baking dish and cool to room temperature. Then place cooled custard into refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Serves 3.

~Jirafa