I’m always on the lookout for desserts that utilize 100% local ingredients (well, if you use vanilla it’s not technically 100% local, but pretty close). When I realized that my maple ice cream would work as a baked custard it was great because during the winter ice cream appeals slightly less than it does in the summer (but really, ice cream is always welcome…). Anyways, this is a very simple recipe and is incredibly rich and tasty.
When you make this custard you can make it in small ramekins or a large ovenproof bowl. If you make it in ramekins feel free to fill them with a small amount of maple syrup, about 1 tablespoon in the bottom of each. Then flip them out onto plates to serve as maple flan.
Baked Maple Custard
- 3-4 eggs (or 2-3 eggs and 1-2 egg yolks)
- ½ – ¾ cup maple syrup
- Dash of salt
- 2 ½ cups milk (or 2 cups milk and ½ cup cream)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, or scraped seeds from a vanilla bean
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Heat the milk (and cream) over medium-low heat until just steaming. Meanwhile whisk the eggs (and yolks) with the maple syrup and salt until blended. When the milk is hot gradually whisk it into the egg and syrup mixture. If you want you can pour the new mixture through a mesh sieve to strain out any large egg chunks, which will make for a much smoother custard. Pour the mixture into a large ovenproof bowl or ramekins.
Bake the custard in a water bath for 40-60 minutes. The time really depends on the shape and size of your bowl or ramekins. The custard is done when the top is set and has begun to caramelize. According to Betty Crocker, the custard is set when a “knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean.”
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. If using ramekins the custard can be flipped out onto a small plate when served.
Guest Recipe Post by Jon Spee
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