The Perfect Custard

Custard forms the basis of many desserts, either in its purest form as creme anglaise, with a wine base as zabaglione or sabayon, or thickened with flour and cornflour as crème patisserie. Pouring custard (home-made or even out of a packet) is a deliciously traditional accompaniment to pies, tarts and steamed puddings. Custard can create a base for ice creams, soufflés, baked puddings, and desserts set with gelatine, like bavarois.

As the name crème anglaise suggests, custard is of English origin. There are two types of custard, pouring (made on the stovetop) and baked. The main ingredients of both are eggs, which are better if brought to room temperature first, and milk. To make a perfect smooth velvety custard, of whichever type, the golden rule is to keep the heat low. Never let custard overcook or you will end up with a pan full of scrambled eggs. Custards made with whole eggs will set more quickly, as the egg white sets at a lower temperature.

POURING CUSTARD

To make a perfect pouring custard, separate 3 eggs, put the yolks in a bowl with 2 tablespoons caster sugar and beat with a balloon whisk until light and fluffy. When properly beaten, the mixture will fall in a ribbon which will hold its shape for a few seconds. Pour 1 1/2 cups (375 ml/12 fl oz) milk into a saucepan and bring to scalding point— small bubbles will appear around the edge.

Stir if a skin appears to be forming. Pour into the egg mixture, stirring with the balloon whisk until well combined. If there is any milk protein on the base o fthe saucepan, rinse it out as this may cause the custard to catch on the bottom. Return the custard to the pan and stir over low heat.

If you have a double boiler, you can use it for custard making. Alternatively, use a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water) for a more gentle heat. However, a pan over gentle heat is quite adequate. Keep the custard below simmering point as the egg yolks will thicken evenly if heated slowly. To prevent lumps forming, stir continuously.

There is even a technique for efficient stirring Make sure the wooden spoon passes through the middle of the pan and around the edge, where the custard is hottest and so will thicken quickest. Keep stirring to ensure the custard thickens evenly. (If the custard curdles a little, try removing it from the heat, adding a teaspoon of iced water and beating well. This will prevent further curdling but will not make a smooth custard.) The custard is ready when it forms a coating on the back of a spoon that you can draw a line through which will hold its shape.

When ready, either pour it quickly through a sieve into a bowl or plunge the base of the saucepan into iced water to stop the cooking process. If chilling the custard, lay a piece of baking paper or plastic wrap directly over the surface to prevent a skin forming. lf keeping the custard warm, put it in a bowl over a pan of hot water. For a vanilla custard, add a split vanilla bean to the milk when you scald it and leave to infuse for 5-30 minutes, depending on the strength of flavour required. Remove the bean before adding the milk to the eggs. Alternatively, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence to the finished custard. If you add it earlier, it will evaporate.

BAKED CUSTARD

Baked custard should be cooked in a bain-marie or water bath to ensure a gentle heat, so the mixture does not curdle. The ramekins or moulds should be placed in a baking dish with enough water to come halfway up their sides. To prevent water bubbling around the edges, you can sit the moulds on a tea towel inside the dish. The custard is cooked when the centre is set but still wobbles when the mould is shaken. The custard will stiffen as it cools. The texture should be smooth and creamy.

CRÈME BRULEE

3 cups (750 ml/24 fl oz) cream
2 vanilla beans
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup (125 g/4 oz) sugar
3 teaspoons sugar

Gently heat the cream and vanilla beans in a large, heavy-based pan until almost boiling, Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla beans. Beat or whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until thick and pale. Add the cream, then pour into a clean pan over low heat and stir until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not boil or you will curdle the mixture. Remove from the heat and divide among six 170 ml (5 1/2 fl oz) ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Just before serving, preheat the grill to very hot. Sprinkle a layer of sugar about 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick over the surface of the brûlée. To do this, put the ramekins on a sheet of baking paper and sift the sugar over—you can pour the dry sugar off the baking paper back into your container.

Place the ramekins in a large baking dish and pack ice around the sides to prevent the custards being heated. Place under the grill until the sugar caramelizes into an even sheet. Keep watching or you may burn the caramel. The sugar needs to caramelize quickly so that the custard doesn’t have time to melt. Lf your grill does not get particularly hot (restaurants use special hot grills called salamanders) you might want to invest in a mini blowtorch which also does the job well.
Play the flame evenly over the surface. Do not put too much sugar on or the crust will be too thick to break with a spoon. Chill the crème brûlée until you serve them but not for longer than an hour or the crust will soften. This dessert can be garnished with fresh fruit such as blueberries.

PANNA COTTA WITH RUBY SAUCE

3 cups (750 ml/24 fl oz) cream
3 teaspoons gelatine
I vanilla bean
1/3 cup (90 g/3 oz) caster sugar

Ruby sauce

1 cup (250 g/8 oz) caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
125 g (4 oz) fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) good-quality red wine

Lightly grease the inside of six 150 ml (5 fl oz) ramekins or moulds with flavourless oil. Place 3 tablespoons of the cream in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatine in an even layer over the surface and leave to go spongy.

Put the remaining cream in a pan with the vanilla bean and sugar and heat gently while stirring, until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and whisk the gelatine into the cream mixture until dissolved. Pour into the moulds and chill for 2 hours, or until set. Unmould by wiping a cloth dipped in hot water over the mould and upending it onto a plate.

To make the ruby sauce, stir the sugar with 1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) water in a pan over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved (do not allow to boil). Add the cinnamon stick and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the raspberries and wine and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and push the sauce through a sieve; discard the seeds. Cool, then chill before serving with the panna cotta. Can be garnished with fruit.

NOTE: Translated from the Italian ‘cooked cream’, panna cotta takes its name from the cream being cooked over heat before being set with gelatine as a thick creamy custard. If you wish, you can split the vanilla bean and add the seeds to the custard.

BAKED CUSTARD

3 eggs
1/2 cup (95 g/3 oz) soft brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (375 ml/12 fl oz) milk
/2 cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
ground nutmeg, to dust

Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/ Gas 4). Brush a 1 litre ovenproof dish with melted butter. Whisk the eggs, sugar, milk, cream and vanilla essence in a bowl for 1 minute. Pour into the dish and place the dish in a shallow baking dish. Pour enough boiling water into the baking dish to come halfway up the side of the ovenproof dish. Place on the oven shelf, sprinkle the top of the custard with nutmeg and bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to warm 160°C (315°F/Gas 2-3) and bake for another 2O minutes, or until the custard is set. It should no longer be liquid but should wobble slightly when the dish is shaken lightly. Remove the dish from the water bath immediately. Serve warm or cold.

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