A simple baked custard is one of life’s little delights! Whether encased in a crispy pastry crust, or just on its own, it’s a demonstration of how very few ingredients can be combined to make something truly delicious. In this recipe we have served it with some simple preserved rhubarb to cut through the richness. Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
- 125ml whole milk
- 125ml double cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- 4 egg yolks
- 45g caster sugar
- grated nutmeg
For the rhubarb:
- 400g pink rhubarb
- 225g caster sugar
- 225ml water
- 1 cinnamon stick
Method
-
Preheat the oven to 120°C Fan. Heat the milk, cream, vanilla and a small grating of nutmeg in a saucepan until almost boiling point.
- Whisk the egg yolks together with the caster sugar until they have become pale.
- Once the cream mixture is ready, gently pour it in to the egg mixture, whisking as you pour.
- Pour this mixture through a sieve in to a jug and allow to settle for a minute. This will allow any foam to rise to the top which can then be skimmed off.
- Pour the remaining mixture in to two ramekins and place on a baking tray.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the mixture is just set with a slight wobble in the middle! Allow to cool.
- To make the preserved rhubarb, it will be prettiest if you use the pinkest parts of the stalk, or use early, forced rhubarb. Peel the stalks, and place the peelings in a saucepan with the sugar, water and cinnamon stick.
- Heat the sugar and peel mixture until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Strain through a sieve and return the pink liquid to the saucepan.
- Cut the rhubarb stalks in to 4 or 5 pieces lengthways, depending on how big they are. Add these pieces to the saucepan and heat gently for 3-4 minutes until they are just soft. Be careful not to overcook as they will disintegrate quickly!
- Allow the rhubarb to cool, and serve with the baked custard. Keep any left over rhubarb and syrup in a jar to serve with homemade vanilla ice cream 🙂
