Eggnog Custards

by mrsjillbond

This is the fifth part of an article from the Fall 2013 Blessed Living Women’s E-Magazine available FREE online at http://www.blwemag.com.

Eggnog Custards

These custards are so easy to make and I usually have the ingredients on hand.

6 Eggs, beaten
3 cups Milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1. Beat sugar into a mixture of the eggs and the milk. Pour into individual oven-prove dishes.
2. Sprinkle fresh ground nutmeg over mixture.
3. Bake using Bath Marie* method 325° F for 30-45 minutes (varies because of difference size ramekins used). Use the clean knife test for doneness**. [If you want to make a single large one – use a soufflé dish and bake 50-60 minutes.]
4. Serve warm from oven or as our family likes it – once cool, refrigerate for several hours. You can garnish to your heart’s content or serve as is.

**Test for doneness by inserting a clean knife into the center of one of the dishes, ascertaining it is still clean. If food clings to the knife continue baking 4-5 minutes and retest.

*Bath Marie: This method is used for many soufflés and custards. You place your baking dish with the ingredients into another larger pan. You surround the cooking dish with very hot water. It isn’t difficult when you learn that it is much easier to place the smaller dishes in the larger dish, set it on the oven rack and partially close the rack. Then using a pitcher with a long spout – pour the water into the larger dish until it is about half way up the sides of the smaller dishes. This method is so much easier than trying to carry the whole shebang – many filled dishes into a hot oven and not spilling a drop along the way.
When it comes time to remove the dishes, open the oven and with either a canning grip or shielded fingers (with good oven-proof gloves) remove each custard cup individually and set on a rack to cool. Leave the large dish in the oven. Allow it to completely cool and then drain and clean. By doing this piecemeal approach you avoid the awful mess of accidentally pouring HOT water into your perfectly baked custards and having a comical mess. Can you tell that I’ve experimented many different methods and have had my history of “Lucy and Ethel” culinary adventures?

For years I used commercial or homemade eggnog in place of the egg/milk mixture and the recipe worked perfectly.  We tried a different brand for a photo and the recipe failed miserably.  It must depend on the amount of real egg in the eggnog product.