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Vanilla Cup Custards

Source of Recipe

From "Mad Hungry: Family" by Lucinda Quinn


Recipe Introduction

"There is something universally appealing about a sweet creamy custard. That gentle vanilla flavor is delicious eaten plain for a simple dessert — or you can dress it up with shaved chocolate, fresh berries, or cookies on the side. Don't toss out those egg whites — they can be frozen for future use!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup heavy cream
â—¦ 1 cup whole milk
â—¦ 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
â—¦ 6 large egg yolks
â—¦ â…“ cup sugar
â—¦ Freshly grated nutmeg, for serving


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Bring the cream, milk, vanilla bean seeds and pod (or extract), and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. If using a vanilla bean, simmer for about 10 minutes to infuse the flavors and strain into a measuring cup. Otherwise, just heat through.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a medium bowl until fully incorporated. Slowly pour the cream mixture into the yolks, whisking continuously. Transfer this custard to a large measuring pitcher to make it easy to pour.

Place six 4- or 6-ounce ramekins inside a roasting pan. Divide the custard evenly among them. Carefully pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake until the custards are just set, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the oven and roasting pan and let the custards cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight until chilled completely. Sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg over the custards just before serving.

Serves 6