old-fashioned egg custard

My aunt recently had surgery and I was trying to think of what I could bring her that would be easy to eat.  Since egg custard was the ‘chicken soup’ of my childhood, I knew that was what I would make.

Here’s what you need:

Start by bringing the milk to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan.

While you are waiting on this to happen, do two things:

1. Place 12 ramekins in a large baking dish.  No ramekins?  No problem.  You can use small glass pyrex bowls, coffee cups, or a disposable aluminum tin like the one pictured below.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla.

Ladle 1/2 c of the simmering milk into your egg bowl and whisk to combine.  This will temper the eggs and allow you to add the eggs to the milk without  curdling.

Add the (tempered) egg mixture to the simmering milk, whisking to combine.

Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into each cup.

After filling about 3-4 cups, your strainer may clog.  No worries, grab a spoon and scrape the inside clean.

Next, pour about 1/2 inch of hot water into the baking dish so that it surrounds each of  the cups.  This will help prevent the tops from cracking.

Grate or sprinkle nutmeg on the top of each custard.  I tend to go overboard here, so when I am making these for other people I really have to restrain myself.

Bake at 300 degrees for 28-30 minutes, or until the custard is barely set.  Let the custard cool in a refrigerator for an hour before serving.  (This should really be 2 hours, but I don’t have super-human patience, which is what is required to smell and not eat these pronto.)

Old-Fashioned Egg Custard

4 c whole milk (this is really not an occasion for skim)
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
nutmeg

Bring the milk to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla.  Ladle 1/2 c of the simmering milk into your egg bowl and whisk to combine.  Add the (tempered) egg mixture to the simmering milk, whisking to combine.

Place 12 ramekins in a large baking dish.  Pour the milk and egg mixture through a mesh sieve into each cup.  Pour about 1/2 inch of hot water into the baking dish then sprinkle the custards with nutmeg.

Bake at 300 degrees for 28-30 minutes, or until the custard is barely set.  Let the custard cool in a refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.