Hi Everyone,
This is part 4 of the 5-part series on Tastes Like Home August Holidays. This week we’re going old school. This custard block is simple and simply d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.
Soursop and condensed milk – it does not matter how you combine and consume this combination, you will always find yourself in trouble, by overeating. Whether you mix the two and eat from a bowl with a spoon or blend them together as a thick shake or pour the mixture into ice trays and freeze, it is the sweet life.
Traditional custard blocks are made with milk and sugar and flavoured with spices. Sometimes, depending on the recipe used, custard powder is added to the mixture. It is one of those ice treats that takes us back to small days. While flutee (sweet frozen ice blocks) was popular, it was the creamy custard blocks that were prized. If you did not race to the flutee lady or man when the bell rang at mid-morning signaling break time, you would be out of luck and sorely disappointed.
When mommy made custard blocks for us, I used to take mine and crush them together in a glass and eat with a spoon, sucking hard on the ice to extract every bit of the sweet-spiced custardy milk.
While I have eaten soursop and condensed milk mixed together, drunk soursop punch, eaten soursop ice cream and soursop sorbet, I had never had it mixed with condensed milk and made into an ice ‘custard’ block. When I ate the first block, I had one of those where-have-you-been-all-my-life moments. The first time I made it I had to stop myself from eating the entire tray of 12 at one time. I tried to negotiate with myself and justify that it was just like drinking a glass of the shake, ok a little more than an 8-oz glass. Look at the cubes, they were small. When I wasn’t eating them on their own, I was adding the cubes to my morning oat-shakes. I was naughty and loved every bit of it.
Oh my goodness, I can actually feel you wanting to stop reading and go make some soursop custard blocks right now. All right, go on then, here is what to do. You can’t mess this up.
Pry open a ripe Soursop, peel the skin and remove the stem in the middle. Working with clean hands or fitted with food-safe gloves, feel-up the Soursop removing the seeds. Add the flesh and juices to a blender and pour in enough condensed milk to sweeten to suit your taste. Puree until smooth, taste and add more condensed milk if needed.
Pour the mixture into ice trays and place in the freezer until hard and frozen. I think you know what to do next. Enjoy!
Next week I conclude the series with a recipe I tried for the first time, using a familiar ingredient. The results? Well, you’ll just have to wait until then.
Cynthia
