Royal Custard
Yolks 3 eggs 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 egg Slight grating nutmeg 1/2 cup Consomme Few grains cayenne Beat eggs slightly, add Consomme and seasonings. Pour into a small buttered tin mould, place in pan of hot water, and bake until firm; cool, remove from mould, and cut in fancy shapes.
This is not a soup but a garnish for one: a savoury baked custard set firm enough to cut into shapes and float in clear consommé. The whole trick is a gentle, even heat so the custard stays smooth and sliceable rather than pitted with bubbles.
- Oven heatThe recipe says only "bake until firm." A slow-to-moderate oven, in the region of 325F, suits it; test from about 20 minutes, until the centre is just set and a knife point comes out clean. Anything hotter curdles the eggs and leaves the custard weeping and full of holes, which makes clean cutting impossible.
- Beat lightly, not to a froth"Beat eggs slightly" is deliberate. Air whipped in becomes bubbles that show as pockmarks on the cut face; if the mixture foams, let it stand a few minutes and skim the surface before pouring.
- The mouldA "small buttered tin mould" means any straight-sided tin — a small loaf pan, a ramekin, or a foil tray. Depth matters more than shape: keep the custard shallow so it cooks quickly and evenly and gives even-thickness slices.
- Water bathSet the mould in a pan of hot water reaching partway up its sides, and keep the water below a simmer. Bubbling water rocks the mould and roughens the custard.
- ConsomméUse a genuinely clear, well-seasoned stock; canned consommé or a strained homemade broth both work. Reduce added salt if the stock is already salty, as the 1/8 teaspoon assumes an unsalted or lightly salted broth.
- Cool fully before cuttingChill the custard completely, then turn it out and cut with a thin sharp knife or small aspic cutters into diamonds, rounds or stars. Warm custard tears.
- Yield and servingThree yolks plus one whole egg with half a cup of consommé makes something close to a cup of set custard — enough garnish for a good many cups of soup. Add the shapes to the hot bowls at the last moment; long standing in boiling soup breaks them up.