CUSTARD IS AMAZING. AND I ONLY JUST FIGURED THAT OUT.
Because I never got custard as a kid. I was all about the pudding! Or so I thought. I thought custard was this sickeningly sweet, thin and really rather unfortunate food. But that’s how I felt about a lot of foods back then. Know why?
Because the way that food is prepared in many restaurants and kitchens in this country is an absolute crime, for which Hestia and Dionysus would likely punish with a swift kick to the pants (or possibly something greatly more devious, given, after all, that they are both Greek gods. You know how they get when they’re upset).
This extends to countless store-bought foods as well.
But, as it turns out, custard is a fantastic food! And to think that I never knew.
But I digress. You know why? Because I’m forgetting to mention that:
CUSTARD IS AMAZING!
And it also threw me for a loop the very first time that I was trying to make it! My second try was flawless, but my first try gave a result that can only be described as a maple syrup-looking and unicorn fart-tasting egg mixture. I’ll let that mental image sit with you for just a second.
So what’s the dealio for getting it right on the first try? Honestly, just don’t repeat my mistake and actually follow the directions. Specifically about how full you fill the pan in which you place your tin/cup/other pan that’s filled with custard (you’ll see what I mean when you get to the recipe). If you fill it properly (to at least within an inch of the top of the pan), then your custard should rival the ambrosia of ancient Greece. Don’t do it and you’ll be filled with imitation custard and a cold regretful heart. Or something like that.
Done right, this is the dish to impress just about anyone. It also can be used with pumpkin bread to create a killer double pumpkin bread pudding. A little practice and you’ll be able to watch people’s eyes widen as they realize that you are capable of such culinary awesome as a truly great custard.
And that’s it for today! Next time I’m featuring how simply roast your pumpkin seeds. Much better than just throwing them all out. And much more satisfying!
- 2 cup whole milk (cream on top if you can find)
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (make your own if possible -- SO good!)
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks in addition to the whole eggs
- Incredibly generous bit of salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 leaves of mint
- Set a ton of water to boil.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fareheit
- Mix and put over medium heat the whole milk and ¾ of the pumpkin pie spice. Do. Not. Let. This. Boil. Just get it to let off some steam before you take it off the heat.
- Let this mixture cool.
- As the mixture cools, whisk the eggs and all of the eggs (and the yolks) the sugar and the salt. You may elect to leave this step until you the milk has already been cooled and the pumpkin pureed, as it can lend some stability to the final product.
- Puree a wee bit of the cooled milk, all of the mint, and the pumpkin.
- Dump the puree in with the rest of the milk and the sugar/salt mixture. Make sure that everything is added to the milk gradually.
- Key step here: take oven safe cups or ramekins (or a muffin tin!) and place inside a 9x11 pan. Then fill the 9x11 pan enough water from the boiling water that you prepared at the beginning of the recipe to cover most (around 90%) of the cup/ramekin/muffin tin.
- Bake at 300 for roughly 30 minutes. When it's done, the custard will be slightly wibbly-wobbly, but mostly firm. Do not let it souffle!
- Enjoy!
[…] after making the mint pumpkin custard and the ginger chocolate pumpkin bread, there were so. many. seeds. SO MANY OF THEM. I knew that I […]