Custards04:21 Nov 10 2009
Times Read: 1,130
Creme Brulee, Creme Anglaise, Creme Caramel, Quiche Lorraine, ice cream. They're all easy, and they all use the same basic recipe.
Start with Creme Anglaise.
2 cups of dairy. You can use whole milk, cream, or a combination. Don't even think about using reduced fat milk of any type. Not only would it just be sacrilegious, it won't thicken right or set up either.
4 ounces of egg yolks. About 8 yolks from large eggs, but you're better off weighing it. A decent digital scale is your best friend, especially for baking. A cup of flour can vary in weight by over an ounce depending on how it's scooped out.
4 ounces of sugar. About half a cup.
One vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or about a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Yep, just four ingredients.
And not much harder to make. Bring the dairy to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent scorching and keep a skin from forming. Add the vanilla at the beginning if you're using a whole bean, but if you're using extract add it at the end.
Add the egg yolks and sugar to a bowl and whisk until well combined and lightened a bit.
Once the dairy comes to a simmer, add a little at a time to the yolks and sugar, whisking constantly. After adding about 1/4 of the dairy, you can start adding it faster. This is just to keep the eggs from cooking before they're combined with the dairy. Add the vanilla now and mix well if you're using extract, otherwise remove the bean, scrape out the seeds, and add them back in and mix well.
What you do with it from here depends on what you want to do with it.
For Creme Anglaise or ice cream, put the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until thickened to desired consistency, which should be just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and leave a clear line if you swipe your finger through across it. Chill with an ice bath, whisking a bit, then cover and put in the fridge. And you have Creme Anglaise. Use it as a dessert sauce, really good with fresh berries, or pour it into an ice cream machine and let it go for french vanilla ice cream.
For Creme Brulee, pour it into individual ramekins, it should make four, and cover with foil. Put the ramekins into a pan, fill with water to about 3/4 of the way up the ramekins, and bake at 325 for 30-45 minutes until the center has just begun to set up. Remove from the water bath, let cool, cover, and put into the fridge.
For the brulee, take them out and let them come close to room temperature before uncovering. Pour a tablespoon or two of sugar into each one, swirl around to coat the top, and pour out the excess.
Use a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar, let cool a bit, and serve.
For Creme Caramel, use 8 ounces of yolk instead of four for the base recipe. Make caramel by heating sugar in a pan until melted and caramelized. Add about a tablespoon of caramel to the bottom of each of four ramekins and put in the fridge for a few minutes until hardened. Pour in the base custard and bake just like Creme Brulee. After cooling, run a knife around the sides and invert the ramekins onto plates. The custard should come out cleanly.
For Quiche Lorraine, again use 8 ounces of yolk instead of four for the base recipe, but also leave out the sugar and vanilla and add about a teaspoon of salt. Saute bacon until crisp, add onion and saute until transparent.
Line a ring mold on a sheet pan, springform pan, or pie dish with pie crust or pate brisee and blind bake. Add the bacon and onion, pour the custard in, cover with foil, and bake in a water bath for 30-45 minutes until the center has set up. Remove, let cool for a few minutes, cut and serve.
There are infinite possibilities for variations on these. Cut the vanilla a bit, add some nutmeg and rum extract and you've got an eggnog sauce, custard, or ice cream.
Toss some chunks of day old bread into a baking dish, pour the custard base over it, and bake for bread pudding.
Skip the sugar and vanilla, cut the dairy by 1/2 a cup and add a diced red pepper and a bit of salt, and puree in a blender before adding to the eggs for a pepper custard.
Or use the same idea, but leave the sugar and a bit of the vanilla and use fruit instead of peppers.
COMMENTS
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atyourwindow
22:36 Nov 19 2009
id go with the steak carpaccio, sounds yummeh!