CLASSIC BAKED CUSTARD CUPS

I’ve got all the tips and tricks to making silky-smooth, decadent baked custard. It’s simple to make and incredibly satisfying to eat.

I have always loved classic baked custard. It’s one of my go-to comfort foods. It’s so smooth, decadent, delicious, and simple to make.

Baked custard has been around for ages, and little has changed about the recipe over the years. Most food historians agree that baked custard was initially served by ancient Romans, who were the first to recognize the binding properties of eggs. They simmered milk, eggs, and honey in clay pots, topping it off with a dash of ground pepper. Though we no longer bake our custard over an open fire, today’s recipe is very similar to the original.

Most recipes I find floating around the internet make eight to ten custards and then tell you to eat them within a day! I don’t need ten custards, and there is no way our family of four could or should eat them all within a day!! My goal with this recipe was to reduce the number of custard cups it makes but keep the classic flavor and silky smooth texture. I was able to create a recipe that produced exactly six 8-ounce custards. After making several rounds of the custard and adjusting the amounts of the ingredients, I discovered something else; the custard does not need to be consumed the first day to be enjoyable. It is at its best on day one but still delicious on day two and even on day three.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO SCALD THE MILK?

With this recipe, I strongly recommend scalding the milk. In many older recipes scalding the milk was done to ensure it was safe to consume. But today, the safety of commercially sold milk is not a concern due to the highly effective pasteurization process. However, scalded milk does give the custard a silky-smooth texture. The hot milk gently heats the eggs so they don’t curdle later in the process, which can result in lumpy custard. It also cuts down on the cooking time a little bit. Scalding the milk is a quick process that is so worth the effort! I highly recommend not skipping this step.

HOW DO YOU SCALD MILK?

Basically, scalding milk is heating milk to 180°F, near boiling. I recommend scalding the milk on the stovetop and using a thermometer to watch the temperature. Stir the milk constantly to prevent a film from forming on top of the milk and the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan. When the temperature reaches 180°F, remove the milk from the heat.

If you don’t have a thermometer to test the temperature, watch the milk closely and remove it from the heat when it is steaming and bubbles are forming around the edge, right before it comes to a boil.

How to Make Baked Custard

Start by preheating the oven to 325°F.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly with a hand-held mixer. Then add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat just until fully incorporated. Set aside.
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and heat on medium-high heat. Stir constantly to prevent the milk from burning. Bring the milk to a temperature of 180°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, remove the milk from the heat when it is steaming, and bubbles form around the edges. Be sure to remove the milk from the heat before it boils.
Slowly drizzle 1 cup of the scalded milk into the egg mixture, whisking the eggs quickly the entire time. Then, slowly pour the remainder of the milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Pour the custard into six 8-ounce Ramekin cups (or something similar in size).

Place the custard cups in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Fill the pan halfway with room temperature water. (**The water evenly distributes heat around the custard, ensuring the eggs don’t curdle. It also prevents the tops from drying out and splitting before the inside is fully cooked. Without the water bath, you’ll have a rubbery, cracked dessert).
Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a knife in the center; the custard is done if it comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly.
The custard is delicious, served both warm or chilled. I highly recommend sprinkling the finished custard with nutmeg (freshly grated or ground). The dessert is not the same without it! You can also serve the custard with fresh berries.

Classic Baked Custard Cups

I've got all the tips and tricks to making silky-smooth, decadent baked custard. It's simple to make and incredibly satisfying to eat.

4.60 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Course Dessert

Servings servings

Ingredients

3 cups milk
4 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional Toppings:

nutmeg, freshly grated or ground
fresh berries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly with a hand-held mixer. Next, add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat just until fully incorporated. Set aside.
Add the cold milk to a medium saucepan. Heat the milk over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Do not boil the milk; you only want to scald it. The milk is scalded when small bubbles appear around the edge of the saucepan, or the temperature registers 180°F.
Slowly drizzle 1 cup of the scalded milk into the eggs, whisking the eggs quickly the entire time. Then, slowly pour the remainder of the milk over the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Pour the custard into six 8-ounce Ramekin cups (or something similar in size)
Place the cups in a 9x13-inch baking pan, and fill the pan halfway with water.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a knife in the center; if it comes out clean, the custard is done.
Allow to cool slightly, then sprinkle generously with nutmeg (strongly recommended).
You can also serve with fresh berries.
Eat the custard warm or chilled. Store custard in the refrigerator and eat within three days.

Keyword Custard

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EGGNOG DONUTS

These festive holiday donuts are a must-have if you love eggnog! Topped with eggnog frosting and warm spices, these are sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

Eggnog – to me – is synonymous with the Christmas season. I usually start checking the stores for my favorite brand of eggnog at the end of October. You might even call me an “eggnog snob.” I won’t just purchase any brand of eggnog, but I scrutinize the ingredients very carefully. I want “real” eggnog without high fructose corn syrup, artificial thickeners, and flavors. Sometimes that means leaving the store without buying any because so many of them are just full of bad things. I know you can always make homemade eggnog – and it’s something that is on my list to try – but for now, I buy it.

This year I figured, why not eggnog donuts? After several rounds of tweaking the recipe, I was finally happy with the results. Below I’ve listed some tips and tricks for making the perfect donuts.

Check out my other donut recipes:

Tips and Tricks:

Tools: You’ll need to be able to cut out your donuts. You can buy a donut cutter that will cut out the donut and donut hole simultaneously. These tend to measure from 3 inches to 3 1/2 inches. Or you can use pastry cutters. I have a set of pastry cutters that have 12 different sizes of circular cutters. For these donuts, I use the 3-inch cutter and the smallest 1-inch cutter to make the perfect size donuts and donut holes. They will be smaller than the large bakery donuts, but then I can eat two and not feel too guilty about it! You can always make larger donuts, but keep in mind the recipe will yield fewer donuts than the recipe indicates. You can always whip up another batch if you need a few more donuts, too, as this recipe is so quick and easy to make.

Dough: Donut dough should be sticky but not so sticky that you find it hard to work with. The key is flour. If the dough seems a bit sticky, add a little flour, no more than a tablespoon at a time. Also, it is important that you lightly flour the surface you plan on rolling the dough out on – including the top of the dough and the rolling pin. Before you use the cutters, dip them in flour. After cutting one or two donuts, dip the cutters in flour again to keep the dough from sticking. Once you cut the donuts, place them on a cutting board or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The dough will not stick to the parchment paper.

Frying:

*Honest moment* Frying things in oil used to intimidate me. But I’ve done it enough times to be pretty comfortable with it now. Just use common sense and be careful. So here are a couple of tips on frying:

First, the temperature is so important! When frying anything in oil, you need a frying thermometer or candy thermometer. You have to know your oil temperature to cook the food correctly. If your oil is not hot enough, your food will be under-cooked. If the oil is too hot, you will burn your food. For frying donuts, you want your oil to be between 355°F and 365°F. The hardest part of making donuts is keeping your oil between those two temperatures. You will discover that your temperature will drop as soon as you put the donuts in the oil. That is why you should never fry more than three donuts at a time because your temperature will drop too low. Just keep a close eye on your thermometer, and take the time to adjust the oil temperature. If you need to, wait a few minutes in between batches to allow your oil to get back to 365°F. But you also don’t want to put your donuts in oil that is over 365°F, because they will be overcooked on the outside and most likely undercooked on the inside. If your oil is getting too hot, you can carefully remove it from the burner for a few minutes to let the oil cool down.
Never drop the donuts into the hot oil! You will get splashed and burned. Most people, myself included, assume that the oil will sizzle and pop when you add the donuts, kind of like the trials of frying bacon. However, if the temperature is correct (not too hot), when you put the donuts in the hot oil, they will sizzle, but they will do that under the surface, not splattering or spitting at you. The technique I use is to lay the donuts gently in the oil. They will initially sink to the bottom, but they will float to the top after a few seconds.
Flip the donuts after about a minute or when they are golden-brown. You will need something to flip and remove the donuts from the oil when they are done. A pair of forks will work, or a large meat fork. They even make a tool called a spider strainer for frying food. The strainer looks like a spider web, hence the name.
When you are done frying your donuts, don’t throw the oil out! You can reuse it. Once you’ve finished frying, let the oil cool. When it’s reached a safe temperature, place a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth (even better if you use both!) over the container you plan to store it in and strain the oil. Label the oil with the date and what you fried in the oil; you don’t want to fry donuts in oil that previously was used for frying fish…Gross! Store the oil in a cool, dry place for no longer than three months. Always check your oil before reusing it. If it is cloudy or rancid-smelling, throw it out!

Eggnog Donuts

These festive holiday donuts are a must-have if you love eggnog! Topped with eggnog frosting and warm spices, these are sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Cooling Time 20

Course Breakfast

Servings donuts

Ingredients

2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon rum extract
5 tablespoons butter, melted
4-5 cups vegetable oil, for frying, (see notes)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons eggnog
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Pour enough oil into a large pot to give you about an inch to two inches of oil. Heat oil to 365°F, over medium-high heat. Use a frying thermometer or a candy thermometer to ensure proper temperature. While oil is heating prepare donuts, (keep an eye on the oil temperature).
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, rum extract, and melted butter.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, and using a fork, mix just until combined. Do not over mix.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ½-inch thickness with a floured rolling pin. Then use a 3-inch pastry cutter and a 1-inch pastry cutter, cut out donuts and donut holes, placing cut-donuts on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or cutting board. Re-roll as needed to use all the dough.
Once your oil has reached 365°F, place no more than 3 donuts in the oil at a time (or you run the risk of cooling your oil too much). Fry for about 2 minutes, flipping once. Donuts are done when they are golden-brown on both sides. Move to a paper towel-lined cooling rack to cool.
**Keep an eye on your oil temperature and adjust the heat up or down to maintain a temperature of 355°F to 365°F.**
Allow fried donuts to cool to room temperature before dipping them in frosting.

To make the glaze:

Add all the glaze ingredients to a small bowl. Stir with a small whisk or a fork until the frosting is smooth.
The glaze should be thick enough to cling well to the cooled donut without running off the donut. If the glaze is too thick, add a teaspoon of eggnog and stir, adding more, one teaspoon at a time, until you've reached the desired consistency. To thicken the glaze, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar, stir.
Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze twice, gently shaking off the excess.
Allow the donuts to sit for a couple of minutes to allow the glaze to set slightly.

Notes

The amount of oil you need will depend on the size of the pot you use. You’ll want the pot big enough for three donuts to float freely. So an easy rule of thumb is, use enough oil to have at least an inch or two of oil in your pot.

You can reuse your oil. Allow the oil to cool completely, strain (to remove any food particles), and store in an airtight jar. I recommend labeling your oil jar with what was last cooked in it and the date.

I don’t recommend keeping leftover donuts. They just do not taste the same the next day. So if you need to, make half of the recipe.

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EGGNOG TAPIOCA PUDDING

If you love eggnog, you’ll love this holiday-flavored dessert! Made with eggnog, tapioca, warm spices, and a hint of vanilla – whip up a batch for your next holiday gathering!

We love eggnog in our house. So we eagerly await its arrival in the grocery stores this time of year. You might even call me an “eggnog snob.” I don’t just purchase any brand of eggnog, but I scrutinize the ingredients very carefully. I want “real” eggnog without high fructose corn syrup, artificial thickeners, and flavors. Sometimes that means leaving the store without buying any because so many of them are just full of bad things. I know you can always make homemade eggnog, and it’s definitely something on my list to try, but I buy it for now. I have my favorite brands, but stores tend to change the brands they carry every year. But this year, when I saw eggnog in the dairy section AND the brand I like, I literally gave a little squeal and high-fived my 12-year-old! I have had this particular recipe rolling around in my head for a couple of months. So I was excited to finally be able to give it a try!

I had to go through several attempts to get this right. The biggest challenge being the thickness of the pudding. With my first attempt, the flavor was amazing, and I got rave reviews from my family, but it was way too thick…Eggnog has a lot of egg in it, so when you cook it, it thickens up…a lot. So I had to play around with the ratio of eggnog to milk. Too much milk and you dilute the eggnog flavor and end up with runny tapioca. Too much eggnog, and it’s too thick. My fourth attempt, I think, is the winner!

Tapioca:

There are several ways to buy tapioca – granules, small pearls, and large pearls. Granules are an instant, quick-cooking form of tapioca that will, basically, cook up quicker, but because they are granules, you will have less texture in your pudding. The next is small and large pearls, which the only difference being the size. They both require soaking ahead of time. I soak the small pearls for 2-3 hours, and the large pearls need to be soaked overnight. My favorite is the small pearl because you get such a nice texture without having to remember to soak them overnight. I usually cannot remember to start a dessert a day in advance, so I write my recipes using the small pearls, but you can use any tapioca types. You skip the soaking step for the granules altogether, and with the large pearls, you soak the pearls overnight.

For this Recipe:

In a small bowl, soak 1 cup of small tapioca pearls in 2 ½ cups of milk. Stir, and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. This is an important step, as it helps soften your tapioca and shortens the cooking time.
After letting the tapioca soak, pour the tapioca and milk into a medium saucepan. Add to the tapioca mixture: 1 ½ cups eggnog, ¼ cup sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat on medium heat, stirring frequently to keep milk from scalding. Once the tapioca mixture has almost reached a boil (do not boil), turn down the heat slightly, just to maintain a low simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly to keep the milk from scalding. The tapioca should thicken a lot during this step.
Carefully taste-test the tapioca to be sure pearls are soft and no longer chewy. If you need to cook it longer, cook for an additional 5 minutes and check again, repeating until done. If your tapioca takes longer than 20 minutes, turn the heat up a little, and continue stirring.
When the tapioca is done, remove it from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and let cool for 15 minutes.
While the tapioca is cooling, beat egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into the tapioca. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve warm or chilled for 4 hours in the refrigerator. To serve, divide tapioca into individual bowls, and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Eggnog Tapioca Pudding

If you love eggnog, you'll love this holiday-flavored dessert! Made with eggnog, tapioca, warm spices, and a hint of vanilla – whip up a batch for your next holiday gathering!

4.85 from 26 votes

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Prep Time 3

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Servings – 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients

1 cup small pearl tapioca, not granulated or quick cooking
2 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups eggnog
¼ cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon, for egg whites
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites

Toppings

whipped cream
ground nutmeg

Instructions

In a small bowl, soak 1 cup small tapioca pearls in 2 ½ cups of milk. Stir, and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
After letting the tapioca soak, pour the tapioca and milk into a medium saucepan. Add to the tapioca mixture: 1 ½ cups eggnog, ¼ cup sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat on medium heat, stirring frequently to keep milk from scalding. Once the tapioca mixture has almost reached a boil (do not boil), turn down the heat slightly, just to maintain a low simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly to keep the milk from scalding. The tapioca should thicken a lot during this step.
Carefully taste-test tapioca to be sure pearls are soft and no longer chewy. If you need to cook it longer, cook for an additional 5 minutes and check again, repeating until done. If your tapioca is taking longer than 20 minutes, turn the heat up a little, and continue stirring.
When the tapioca is done, remove it from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and let cool for 15 minutes.
While the tapioca is cooling, beat egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into the tapioca, and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Serve warm or chilled for 4 hours in the refrigerator. To serve, divide tapioca into individual bowls, and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Notes

I write my recipes using the small pearls, but you can use any type of tapioca. For the granules, you skip the soaking step altogether, and with the large pearls, you soak the pearls overnight.

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