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Custard
Ingredients.
Four Yolks of Egg and one White.
Half a pint of Milk.
A tablespoonful of Brandy.
One ounce of Loaf Sugar.
Flavouring to taste, Vanilla and Lemon-peel.
Put the yolks of four eggs and the white of one into a basin and mix them well together with a wooden spoon, stir in the milk and strain it all into a milk saucepan or a jug, add the sugar; stand the jug (if you use one) in a saucepan of boiling water and stir the custard over the fire until it thickens, but mind it does not boil or your custard will curdle and be spoilt. Take it off the fire, stir in the brandy and flavouring, a few drops of vanilla or any other essence you like. When the custard is cold pour it into custard glasses with a little grated nutmeg on the top, and it is ready for table. If you flavour with lemon-peel it must be put into the milk before the custard is cooked and taken out before serving.
A plain stirred custard (crème anglaise by another name), thickened with egg yolk alone and served cold in glasses. The whole technique rests on holding the mixture just below simmering.
- The hinge: heat controlEgg yolk sets between roughly 160 and 180F, and the custard curdles above that. Off the heat at 175F, or when the custard coats the back of a spoon and a drawn finger leaves a clean track.
- Half a pintThis is an imperial book, so half a pint is 10 fl oz, about 1 1/4 US cups. Four yolks plus one white to that much milk is a rich mixture; whole milk is the right choice, and it will likely be a pouring custard rather than a spoonable one.
- Loaf sugarRefined sugar sold in cones or hard blocks and broken up as needed. One ounce is about 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, which by modern taste is restrained; the brandy carries much of the flavour.
- Jug in a saucepanA heatproof jug or bowl set over simmering water is a bain-marie. It is slower but much more forgiving than direct heat; if you use a saucepan on the burner instead, keep it low and stir constantly, reaching the corners.
- Strain before, and afterStraining the raw mixture removes chalazae and any unmixed white. Straining once more into the glasses catches whatever has begun to set on the pan walls, and is worth doing even when nothing has gone wrong.
- Brandy and essence off the heatAlcohol and volatile flavourings go in after cooking, as directed, so nothing is driven off. A tablespoon of brandy in 10 fl oz is assertive; halve it if the custard is to accompany fruit.
- Lemon peelInfuse pared peel, no white pith, putting it into the milk before the custard is cooked, as the recipe directs, and lift it out before serving.
- Yield and keepingEnough for three or four small custard glasses. Cover the surface with cling film while cooling if you dislike a skin, chill, and eat within two days.
Boiled custard of this kind is one of the oldest sweets in the English repertoire, descended from the medieval crustade, a pastry case filled with a set egg-and-milk mixture; the name eventually transferred from the crust to the filling. By the time this book was compiled the pouring custard had long been distinguished from the baked one, and the same mixture underlies trifle, ice cream and other cold creams. The high yolk-to-white ratio may well be deliberate: whites set firm and rubbery, yolks set soft, and the single white gives a little body without spoiling the texture. Grated nutmeg on top was a common finish on English custards, and the spoonful of brandy is of a piece with a period that saw no reason for a dessert to be entirely temperate.