Custard

Ingredients

• the yolks only of eggs
• milk
• sugar
• vanilla in stick
• a little nutmeg

Method

1. 1

   Flavour the milk by boiling bay-leaves in it.

2. 2

   Combine milk, sugar, and yolks in a jug, place in boiling water, and stir until thickened.

3. 3

   Remove from heat and cool in cold water while stirring.

4. 4

   Add vanilla essence when nearly cold.

5. 5

   Grate nutmeg over the surface before serving.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 78. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

custard. Now, just as the principle of making good omelets was to get the eggs set without having them bui-nt, so may the secret of successful custard-making be said to consist in getting the eggs to thicken without getting set. The chief point in making custard, or any form of liquid whose consistency depends upon heated eggs, is to know when to stop short of the boiliag point. In making custard, it will always be found most economical to use the yolks only. The whites of the eggs add nothing to the flavour or excellence of the custard, and yet are invaluable to the cook for a variety of purposes, from clearing soups to garnishing sweets — the latter being a point on which we shall touch on some future occasion. The best method of making custard is to first flavour the milk, if bay-leaves are used, by boiling the bay-leaves in the milk previous to adding the yolks of eggs. When, however, the yolks of eggs are added, let the mixture, i.e., the milk, sugar, and yolks, be placed in a jug, and the jug placed in a saucepan of boiling water. The cold jug will, of course, take the water immediately off the boil. Keep stirring the jug till the custard begins to thicken ; when nearly sufficiently thick, take the jug out of the boiHng water and plunge it into some cold water, but still continue the stirring for some time. By this means all fear of curdling will be done away with. Should the custard be flavoured with that most delicious of essences — essence of vanilla — the vanilla should be added when the custard is getting nearly cold, by which means more of the flavour is retained. Should the custard be flavoured by vanilla in stick, it will be found best to tie up the vanilla in a small muslin bag, and boil this bag in the milk till the milk is sufficiently flavoured. This small bag of vanilla will do over and over again, though of course the bag must be left in for a longer period each time it is used, as it natui-ally will lose some of its virtue every time, and will consequently require to be left in the milk for a longer period to impart whatever of flavour is left in it. The flavour of the stick vanilla will be found to be far superior to the essence of vanilla sold in bottles ; indeed, the latter varies so much in quality that it is impossible to say how much should be added to any given quantity of custard. A little niitme

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.