Old Fashioned Boiled Custard Recipe
I always enjoy finding recipes from times gone by and when I discovered this custard recipe from 1857 I decided to give it a try.
A pint is 2 cups, so to try the recipe I cut it into three.
I have to admit that growing up my idea of “made from scratch” custard was using Bird’s Custard Powder. Other than that it was opening a tin of Devon Custard. So, I always feel very proud when I make custard with eggs. Though it is exceptionally easy, it just feels like an accomplishment!
I whisked this custard well and it was very light and airy. It was also very thin. And then I realised that I couldn’t read… and put it back into the pot to cook for a few more minutes. It thickened up nicely and it was a really light custard that was good on its own, but would really be good with a sticky toffee pudding!
Old Fashioned Egg Custard
Boiled Custard Recipe
This recipe for boiled egg custard is taken from “The Great Western Cook Book, or Table Receipts Adapted to Western Housewifery” by Mrs. A. M. Collins, published by A. S. Barnes & Company, New York, in 1857.
“Beat six eggs well, add six tablespoonfuls of sugar, beat it well with the eggs; boil three pints of milk, pour it over the eggs, but be sure to stir them all the time, or it will be apt to curdle; put it back in the saucepan; stir it a few moments, over the fire, take it off, stir it until nearly cool.”
The name boiled custard isn’t very appetizing but the custard itself over a sticky toffee pudding would be lovely. I’m guessing cause it’s one of the desserts I’ve always been meaning to try and make it one day. I just have to find the right occasion, as in other people coming to eat it, or a way to scale it down to 2 servings. Could you use this custard in a trifle too?
You could absolutely use it in any way. I ate it all on its own as I just adore custard. It would be great over the pudding and in a trifle. I think it would be perfect no matter how it was served or eaten, even with the wooden spoon right from the pot! 🙂
Just a quick thought … there’s no flavouring used at all ie. vanilla, which is common in vanilla custards. Do you ever add any extract to the custard? Do you usually serve it hot, warm, room temperature or cold?
With this, I don’t add any vanilla as it is an old recipe and I like honouring that. Generally I add vanilla to a custard, but this one I don’t. I have never actually eaten it hot, either warm or cold. And I can’t decide which I prefer, as it is good both ways. I must try it hot on a steamed pudding. I made a cheat’s steamed pudding recently and would have loved to have made this that day too, as it would really have helped the pudding. I just didn’t have time.
I understand wanting to honour the ‘purity’ of the original recipe. 🙂
One of the reasons I asked about the temperature is because I would be more likely to have extra custard and wondered if, after refrigerating it, I could rewarm it to serve the leftovers with something. Especially as eating it straight, without any flavouring added, might be a little bland.
A couple of days ago I made a mug cake with strawberries in it. It called for garnishing with a lot of whipping cream and I wondered if, instead, I could ladle a couple of tablespoons of the hot custard over the cake and then put chunks of macerated strawberries on top.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/127974.html
Since I can reduce the recipe to the use of only 1 egg, I can make a single cup … which shouldn’t be too hard to get through in a reasonable time. 🙂 Unlike the homemade mayonnaise I made yesterday. I have NO idea how I can use up 1 cup of mayo in 2 weeks.
It’s a really easy recipe, by the way, and since I don’t buy mayo anyway (I use Miracle Whip) it will probably be my replacement in case I need real mayo in a recipe.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/128268.html
I need that mayo recipe! Thank you! I will be using that soon. 🙂
The strawberries with the custard would be perfect. It is plain but there is just something right about it, usually I add a good splash of vanilla extract to everything and am a firm believer that every recipe requires twice the vanilla that it calls for, so for me not to add vanilla says something!!
I hope you find the mayo recipe as useful as the hollandaise recipe you gave me.
I will be using it as soon as I get my hands on an immersion blender! Never more will I use store bought mayo. This looks and sounds so great. Thank you!
The ingredients are so simple (I read that you should use a neutral flavoured oil so no extra virgin or regular virgin olive oil) and inexpensive. The only drawback that I can see is the perishability.
You’ll find the immersion blend is very useful in pureeing soups and sauces in the pot you make them into rather than having to dig out your food processor and do it in batches.
I have an immersion blender in our storage, but not one here. We can only bring so much and I chose a hand held mixer and some cookie sheets for the kitchen. I know an immersion blender is small but when it came to it I didn’t have the space or weight allowance. Bob and Ex are to thank for that! 🙂
I well remember (and even remember well) being a pupil at Elder Park School in Glasgow charged with bringing the urns of hot food up to the cafeteria. Some of the urns contained the yellow custard that we all wanted — I always got extra because “he carried it, youse!” Your custard, by the way, is better!
Youse uns who lugged them urns up the stirs deserved a wee drap extra.
Any time you want custard you know who to ask, and there will be no lugging of urns required! x
This looks amazing…maybe a little raspberry sauce on the side? I’m tryin it !
Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. I reckon custard is good with everything, so raspberry sauce… yum!
I’ll have to try this. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you enjoy it!
Epic recipe fail today. For some reason I expected the mixture to actually thicken over the heat after I had whisked the hot milk into the beaten egg and sugar, and when it didn’t, I brought it to a boil … well, I ended up with curdled sweet milk. Disappointed. 😦
Oh no!! I am sorry about that! Mine thickened up really nicely. Hmm, I’ll have to think about what happened…
One egg, 1 tbsp of sugar, whisk together until the sugar is dissolved and then gradually whisk in 1 cup of hot/scalded milk. Put on burner at medium heat and whisk. I kept cooking while whsiking til it came to a boil as it didn’t thicken at all.
I didn’t think it would be that challenging.