At the end of a meal of celebration such as that that will take place tomorrow for Eid Al-Adha, we yearn for something soothing and comforting, and homemade custard is just the type of treat that fits the bill. Soft, creamy, and not overly sweet, custard is a taste of home that comforts.
Easy to whip up with just a few ingredients, custard makes for a great make-ahead dessert. Steamed or baked, it’s good both ways.
The custard can be baked 2 ways – in a bain-marie (a water bath) or dry (with direct heat) where the dish containing the custard is simply placed on a sheet pan and baked. The difference is in the texture and crust. Custard cooked in a bain-marie tends to be lighter with a very thin layer of crust at the top. On the other hand, a custard baked dry tends to form a somewhat thicker crust at the top and browns all around – at the sides and bottom of the custard, creating really yummy bits for eating pleasure. The texture is slightly firmer than the bain-marie cooked custard but still creamy. The texture, if you are fussy, can be controlled if you remove the custard from the oven just before it is done cooking (with a slight jiggle in the centre) so that the carry-over heat can finish cooking the custard outside of the oven. Like I said, either way works great.
For this recipe, I’ll give you 3 options for cooking – steamed, bain-marie (water bath) and dry (direct heat).
Custard is primarily made of 3 ingredients – milk, eggs, and sugar. The basic custard mixture can be flavoured with spices, citrus zest, or extracts/essences so play around with the flavourings.
INGREDIENTS
· 2 cups whole milk, room temperature
· 4 eggs, room temperature
· 3 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste
· 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
· Freshly grated nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
For steaming:
1. Add enough water to a large pot for steaming and set the steamer in the pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together all the ingredients and pour the mixture through a sieve. Ladle the custard into a 1-litre heatproof bowl or 4 regular-sized ramekins or similar bowls.
3. Sprinkle with a dusting of nutmeg.
4. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and steam for 20 – 25 minutes or until the custard no longer jiggles. Carefully remove from the steamer and cool.
5. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate overnight and serve cold.
For bain-marie:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Set a kettle of water on the stove to boil.
3. Get a large, deep baking pan in which the bowl or bowls of custard can sit comfortably.
4. Whisk together the ingredients for the custard, pass through a sieve and pour the mixture into a 1-litre baking dish or ramekins. Sprinkle with a dusting of nutmeg Transfer the bowl/bowls to the baking dish. Carefully pour the boiling water into the pan to come up halfway up the sides of the bowl/bowls and transfer to the oven.
5. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the middle when lightly touched is soft but not watery. Shut off the heat and remove the pan from the oven.
6. Transfer the custard to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate to serve cold.
For dry (direct) baking:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil.
3. Whisk together the ingredients, pass through a sieve, and pour into 1-litre bowl or ramekins. Assemble on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a light dusting of nutmeg.
4. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the centre jiggles slightly.
Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate to serve cold.
Enjoy!
Cynthia
