British Cream Tea : Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture: Custard

September 29, 2009

Custard

I love custard, on its own, over rhubarb, with crumble or steamed sponge; melting into and curling around fruit or syrup or jam...

For me it does not have to be homemade. Birds is wonderful and is fabulous for an emergency pudding when only custard will do and I have no time or energy to spend even a minute longer in the kitchen than I must. But for true indulgence nothing beats homemade, unctuous custard, full of vanilla seeds and egg yolks....

So this is my recipe!

1 fresh vanilla pod

500ml full fat milk

5 egg yolks

80g caster sugar

1. Split the vanilla pod with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds from the inside. Pour the milk into a pan, add the split pod and the seeds. Heat until just boiling, remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes for the vanilla to infuse.

2. Put the egg yolks into a large bowl with the sugar and whisk, with a hand whisk, until pale and thick.

3. Pour the milk into the egg yolks and sugar mixture through a sieve, mixing well as you pour. Throw away the pod (the seeds will have fallen through the sieve and will be in the custard).

4. Put the custard mixture into a clean pan and cook slowly over a low heat, stirring constantly until it is thick and leaves a clear line when you coat the back of a spoon with the custard and draw your finger through it. This should take about 8 minutes or so.

5. Pour into a jug and serve with crumble or steamed puddings or pie or stewed rhubarb...or simply on its own ;)