Boiled Custard Recipe (John Ballard)

Reblogged here from my old blog. Four years ago I posted this recipe while taking a break from Thanksgiving kitchen duties. It was noticed by the Google robots and appears among the first links when I search for "boiled custard recipe." (Algorithms are crafted to reflect a variety of preferences so results may vary.)

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No Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete at our house without boiled custard. I just made two batches which yielded just over a quart and a half after I enjoyed the cook's tasting portion along the way. It took less than an hour, and if family members don't get too much while it is still warm, there should be enough left to serve chilled with dessert later today.

This is a Southern thing but mostly from the border states. My family is from Kentucky, so we have had boiled custard for generations. Think eggnog without the nog. This delectable treat is nothing more than milk, eggs and sugar with vanilla added for flavor. Like all wonderful foods, handling is more important than the recipe. This is how I make boiled custard.

The ingredients are simple...

4 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 Quart Milk
Vanilla to taste

...but that's not the recipe. The recipe is how to put them together.

1. Heat the milk in a double boiler, stirring enough that it won't leave cooked milk at the bottom as it heats. I have found that a small boiler making one quart at a time works better than doing a large batch. I use a pocket thermometer to check the temperature.
2. While the milk is getting hot, break the eggs into another container and mix in the sugar. A small hand whip works well for this. No need to mess up an electric mixer. When the milk shows about 120 degrees, put some into the egg-sugar mixture, mix it in to make it all pour better, then pour it all into the hot milk, stirring all the time.  
3. Continue to stir and monitor the custard as it heats to 180 degrees. As it gets hot, the eggs will be cooking and it will want to stick to the bottom of the boiler, so keep stirring. A wooden spoon is good, but I just use the same whip that I used to mix the sugar and eggs.  
4. Pour the hot custard through a sieve into some other container. I use a two-quart plastic kitchen measure with handle and pouring spout. It makes it easier to pour into jars to cool.  
5. Vanilla always goes into anything at the end. If you put it in as it is cooking the flavor will not be as good. (This is also true of herbs and most spices. The delicate aromas and flavors are never improved by too much boiling, baking or poaching.) I use about a teaspoon and the aroma makes me immediately pour off a little into a juice glass to make certain I didn't make any mistakes. 

This sweet, simple treat will serve wonderfully with almost any dessert. Pound Cake or sweet potato pie comes to mind. Later in the day, I have been known to enrich boiled custard with something alcoholic. Bourbon is traditional, but liqueurs of all kinds are a possibility. The mind reels. Enjoy.

Comments

[Ruchira]

Delicious! I can't swear but I am almost certain that my mother made the same (or very similar) custard. We ate it as a dessert by itself with a chocolate or vanilla wafer stuck in the cold custard or over fruit (apples, bananas, grapes). I don't remember ever tasting it spiked with liquor. Will try.

[prasad]

Ooh, this brings back memories for me too. Custard with bananas or oranges or apples is very good stuff :)

[John Ballard]

Ruchira, your comment reminds me of a time we served this custard to someone who had never had it, along with a couple of other desserts. (I learned some time ago to ration it by serving it in little paper cups, the disposable kind sometimes used for taking medicine or brushing teeth. It's much better to offer refills than risk wasting when guests don't finish what they have been served.) Anyway, after a small taste one guest proceeded to pour his custard over a slice of cake. Not a bad idea.

The challenge at our house is leaving it alone long enough to get cold. I realized years ago to expect part of the first batch to be served hot to those of us (yes, me as well) who can't wait for it to refrigerate. With a little practice each batch only takes about half an hour and three or four batches will furnish what we need for couple of days.

[Ruchira]

Okay John, I made a quart. Substituted one egg with a tablespoon of corn starch and used 2/3 cup sugar. The warm custard tasted delicious. Have put it in the fridge to cool and set. Will report back later about the chilled version. Thanks.