Make it Yourself...Dessert Custards

Here are some excellent dessert custards for you to try.
Custard can curdle easily from too much heat.  It must either be baked in a pan of hot water or in a pie crust to insulate the delicate custard from the oven heat.  Here are good recipes for both methods.

From Sue:
We like custard, and we also like orange. This recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Old Fashioned Home Baking 1990 gives us a delicious way to enjoy both. It makes a quick, simple dessert that was luxuriously creamy and tasty.
Orange Custard Cups
4 Large Eggs
2 Cups Half and Half -- or whole milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Orange Extract -- or 2 tbsp. orange liqueur (divided)
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Teaspoons Powdered Sugar -- or white sugar
  • Preheat oven to 325°. Combine eggs, half and half, sugar, salt and 1/4 TEASPOON of the orange extract (or 1 tbsp. of orange liqueur), just until mixed.
  • Place 6 ungreased 6 ounce custard cups in a 13 x 9" pan, pour egg mixture evenly into the custard cups. Pour very hot water into the pan around the cups to a depth of 1". You can line the pan with a cloth (I used a clean cotton dish cloth) to keep the custards from moving around and to keep them from cooking too quickly on the bottom.
  • Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes until done. Cool on wire rack, cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
  • Beat 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1/4 TEASPOON of the orange extract (or 1 tbsp. orange liqueur) and 2 teaspoons powdered sugar. Top custards and serve.
Cost: $1.10 or 19¢ per serving about 2/3 cup each.
Yield: "3 3/4 Cups" 6 custard cups
Per Serving: 291 Calories; 20g Fat (60.9% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 198mg Cholesterol; 132mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
From Myrna: 
Custard pie is one of my personal favorites and this is a very good recipe, the author claims that this pie will not weep or bead up. Scalding the milk before using does help with this. According to the Joy of Cooking, to scald milk, heat in a heavy pan just till you see bubbles along the outside edges. You do not want the milk to boil. Pour slowly into the egg mixture to avoid cooking the eggs. 
This is a very simple, flavorful pie and not rich, it is good for a dessert after a large meal.
 Really takes me back to my childhood. I make custard cups quite often, but the pie really hits the spot.
Velvet Custard Pie
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell
2 ½ cups milk
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Grated nutmeg
  Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, scald the milk over high heat, set aside. In a large mixer bowl, thoroughly beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt together. Add one cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture, beating it in slowly. Add the rest of the milk and continue top beat slowly. Pour the custard into the pie shell, and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake on the lowest oven shelf for 40 minutes or until it is pale gold. Remove to rack and cool completely before cutting.
Cooking From Quilt Country    

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