Alright, so nothing is going to be easier than chocolate covered strawberries…I mean you can’t beat two ingredients and a microwave.
BUT if you’re ready to take your dessert aspirations to a marginally higher level, egg custard is both healthy, delicious, and surprisingly easy. I mean, custard is basically just sugar, milk, and eggs. Custard recipes can span the gamut and get really complicated if you’re looking for something special, but they’re also delightful if you keep it simple.
Ready?
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
2 eggs (preferably free-range)
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ground nutmeg (freshly grated if you wanna show-off)
Tools:
Stovetop
Bowl
Small saucepan/pot
Oven-safe ramekins/cups/etc.
Baking dish
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Alright, here we go.
1) Preheat your oven to 300° F and place the ovensafe cups in the baking dish (I used a 9×9 pan). Bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan. I use 2% instead of whole milk to keep the recipe a bit healthier without sacrificing texture. I decided to get fancy and added a real Madagascar vanilla bean pod that my brother had given me. I find that the beans add extra vanilla flavor that you just don’t get from the extract alone. It also adds a that beautiful flecked look to the finished product.
2) While that’s warming, beat the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla together in a separate bowl. I just use a fork, but you can get technical with a whisk or whatever tool you like. Once the milk is simmering, slowly pour-in the egg mixture, mixing as you do so to help it all combine smoothly.
3) Now, the recipe on Epicurious says you should pour the mixture through a fine strainer into the oven-safe cups and then sprinkle with nutmeg…I was lazy and didn’t have a fine strainer. So I just poured in the mixture un-strained and it still turned out a-ok. Maybe less pretty, but just as yummy.
4) Heat some water and pour into the pan around the filled cups (it should go about halfway up the sides) and bake about 30-35 minutes. Then let cool for a couple hours before serving. If you’re not planning on serving right away, I recommend letting cool for about half an hour, then covering with saran wrap and sticking the cups in the fridge. This way the excess steam can be let off, but necessary moisture stays in until you’re ready to eat.
A couple notes: The custard will last about 3-4 days in the fridge and only gets better with time. If you want to make it a little special, you can add some almond, hazelnut, or any other extract at the same time as the vanilla. There are dozens of extracts you can experiment with. If you go my route and throw in a real bean pod, make sure you make a slit down the side of it beforehand so that the seeds can seep out of the pod. This is what gives it that flecked vanilla bean look. If you don’t score it, you’ll just be wasting the pod.
Bon Appetit!
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If you really want the most flavor from that vanilla bean you should split the bean down the center with a knife or scissors, and then use the back of a knife to scrape out the seeds (aka the caviar). Add the seeds and pod to the custard, and the seeds will disperse throughout.