This is a post by our great friend, Flarkin. We posted her boiled custard recipe last year on the By Hand website, but it’s such a great alternative to Egg Nog that we thought we’d post it again. – Lauria
One of my husband’s favorite holiday treats is boiled custard, also sometimes referred to as drinking custard. Where my husband grew up in west Tennessee, boiled custard can be found in any grocery store right alongside the eggnog. Sadly for him, commercially produced boiled custard was nowhere to be found in the upstate of South Carolina, the place we called home until just a short while ago. (Trust me. I looked.) After we moved there 10 years ago, he only enjoyed boiled custard on the occasions when we traveled to visit his family for the winter holidays. It was a great hardship.
A thick drink similar to eggnog, boiled custard is commonly served in the deep south in the winter months and around the holidays. Outside of the south, boiled custard is more commonly known as creme anglaise. Creme anglaise is often used a sauce for desserts, poured over cakes or fruit. Whatever its name and whether you drink it or pour it over a slice of cake, the dessert beverage has a delightful light, sweet taste with a thick vanilla flavor. It is no wonder to me that my husband missed it.
So, last year, as part of my Christmas gift to him, I decided to test boiled custard recipes until I found or crafted one that met his high expectations. It was well worth the effort. However, this year our circumstances changed. We recently moved halfway across the country to western Kentucky, and we are once again living in a region where commercially produced boiled custard can be found on every grocery store shelf. It was with great enthusiasm that I purchased several quarts of boiled custard the day it appeared in the grocery store.
Alas, I fear I am now jaded. Having perfected my own boiled custard technique, the store-bought version simply doesn’t have the same richness and flavor to me. I found myself hunting up that boiled custard recipe again. I started with a boiled custard recipe at Pauladeen.com, making several test batches. Ultimately, I eliminated a few of the egg yolks and settled on the use of a whole vanilla bean, rather than vanilla extract.
Boiled Custard, adapted from a recipe at Pauladeen.com
Like eggnog, boiled custard is made from milk / cream, sugar, and eggs. However, unlike eggnog, boiled custard (my version, at least) uses only the yolks of the egg and does not involve liquor.
You will need:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
¾ cup of sugar
1 whole vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of vanilla
In the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat, bring water to a simmer. You want enough water to bring to a boil and generate steam, but not enough to touch the top half of the double boiler once you put it on top. To the top half of the double boiler, add the milk and cream. Take the vanilla bean and slice into it lengthwise to expose the seeds in the middle of the bean.
Add the sliced bean to the milk and cream in the top half of the double boiler. Once the water is simmering, carefully put the top half of the double boiler onto the bottom half and reduce heat to low. Let the milk and cream mixture come to a simmer, stirring regularly. As the milk and cream warm up and as you stir, the vanilla seeds will release from the bean and flavor the mixture. (If you don’t have vanilla beans on hand and prefer to use vanilla extract, skip this step. You’ll add the extract at the end.)
While the milk, cream and vanilla are heating, in a separate bowl add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture falls in ribbons from the whisk.
Once the milk has begun to steam, it is time to temper the yolk and sugar mixture. While stirring with the whisk, add a quarter cup of the milk mixture to the egg yolks. Repeat 3 more times until you have added a total of one cup of the milk mixture to the yolks. This will warm the eggs up and keep them from scrambling when you add them to the milk in the double boiler.
Once the eggs are tempered, slowly add the eggs to the double boiler, stirring constantly.
When you first add the yolks to the double boiler, the mixture will be foamy on top. Remember to keep the heat low and to stir regularly to keep the eggs from cooking too quickly and scrambling. Continue stirring over low heat in the double boiler until the mixture has a pale yellow color and thickens to where the sauce coats the back of a spoon. (If in doubt, here is a good explanation of the consistency you want.)
Once the custard has reached the desired consistency, remove it from the double boiler. If you did not use a vanilla bean earlier, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the custard at this time.
Continue to stir for at least another five minutes while the custard cools. If you used the vanilla bean, I recommend straining the custard after it has cooled. This will filter out any fragments of the vanilla bean that might have come loose as well as any particles of egg that might have solidified during the cooking process.
The custard can be served warm or chilled with your favorite cookies or cake. (We prefer it chilled around here.) For fancy custard, top it with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon. If you are the type of family that leaves out goodies for Santa, might I suggest leaving him a cold glass of boiled custard instead of plain old milk this year?
