That was my first thought when the Prairie Kids brought in some abnormally large, blueish eggs a month or two ago. We’ve only hadbrown eggs since the raccoons got our Amerucana hens last year, and I couldn’t fathom why on earth our Plymouth Rocks and Red Sex Linkssuddenly started laying giant blue eggs.
Until I remembered we have ducks.
Duh, Jill. Duh.
Ever since, I’ve been on a mission to figure out the best ways to utilize these lovely duck eggs. Not only are duck eggs larger and richer than chicken eggs, but they also are reported to contain higher amounts of Omega-3s and protein. They have a bit more of an “intense” flavor, so most people prefer to add them to recipes, versus eating them plain.I’ve been experimenting with our duck eggs in all sorts of recipes lately, and have been nothing but impressed.
Most recently, I’ve been making duck egg custard, which makes me feel all sorts of fancy when I serve it in little custard cups after supper. But truthfully, homemade custard is incredibly simple to make, and uses milk and eggs, which are usually plentiful on a homestead.
By the way,I always use the real McCoy for syrup. Genuine, all-natural maple syrup trumps the store-bought pretend stuff every time. I highly recommend this wood-fired, all-natural maple syrup,made the old-fashioned way by the Plante family, in New England.
Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the scalded milk. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer (to remove lumps), then pour custard cups or oven-safe ramekins half-full with the mixture. Sprinkle ground nutmeg on the top of each cup.
Place the ramekins in a oven safe pan (like a large baking dish), and fill the pan with the hot water to create a water bath for your custard cups. The water should come halfway up the sides of the cups. (This ensures they cook gently and evenly).
Bake for 35-55 minutes, or until the custards are set but still “loose”. (I check by touching the top lightly with my finger, if it is still liquid, keep cooking. A little jiggle is OK, though.)
Remove from the oven and serve immediately if you like warm custard (I don’t). Otherwise, refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving for a silky smooth, chilledcustard.
Homemade Custard Notes
My Pyrex ramekins are slightly larger, so this recipe makes enough to fill 5 of them. If you are using smaller cups, you can easily get six servings from this recipe.
If you’d rather use granulated sugar in this recipe, you can. Simple omit the syrup and add 1/3 cup of sugar instead.
Although I haven’t tried it yet, honey would be awesomein this recipe too.
If it’s berry season, a handful of fresh berries would be heavenly on top of these maple custard cups.
*As written, these custards are delicately sweet. If you prefer a sweeter dessert, add 2-3 tablespoons of additional maple syrup.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Fill a teapot with water, and heat it just to boiling. Set aside.
Add the milk to a small saucepan, and scald it (heat it until it’s just about ready to boil, but don’t let it boil all the way).
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla.
Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the scalded milk. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer (to remove lumps), then pour custard cups or oven-safe ramekins half-full with the mixture. Sprinkle ground nutmeg on the top of each cup.
Place the ramekins in a oven safe pan (like a large baking dish), and fill the dish with the hot water to create a water bath for your custard cups. The water should go halfway up the sides of the cups. (This ensures they cook gently and evenly).
Bake for 35-55 minutes, or until the custards are set but still “loose”. (I check by touching the top lightly with my finger, if it is still liquid, keep cooking until they are set. A little jiggle is OK, though.)
Remove from the oven and serve immediately if you like warm custard (I don’t). Otherwise, refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving for a silky smooth, chilled treat.
Egg custard is a variation on cream custard. Egg custurd is a tick rich creamy sweet or savory dessert, made mixtures of eggs or egg yolks, milk or cream, flavorings (vanilla, nutmeg, etc.) and optionally, sweeteners (sugar, honey). Basic custards are thickened and set by eggs alone.
Texture: Custards made with whole eggs tend to be firmer and more set due to the additional proteins in the egg whites. Custards made with only egg yolks are typically smoother and silkier, resulting in a creamier texture. Flavor: Egg yolks have a higher fat content and contain more flavor compounds than egg whites.
Milk: This decadent custard starts with four cups of milk. Butter: A tablespoon of butter lends richness. Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the custard. Eggs: Four eggs ensure a creamy, thick, and velvety texture.
In fact, using the white of an egg will dramatically alter the consistency of your custard, making it more rigid, rather than the beautifully soft texture that's ideal. Egg whites used in other recipes to help provide structure will do the same for your crème brûlée, making the custard sturdier than you desire.
There are three types of custard: baked, stirred, and frozen. Baked custards include bread pudding, flan, and cheesecake, and are prepared by baking in an oven or water bath. Boiled Custards include beverages like eggnog. Puddings, creme anglaise (krem on-GLAYZ), and pastry cream are some examples of stirred custards.
Brands vary, but vanilla ice-cream typically has about 10 per cent more calories than custard, as well as twice the saturated fat, less protein and half the calcium and potassium. However, ice-cream usually has less sugar and salt, too.
Add the milk in 1/2-cup increments to bring the temperature of the eggs up gradually while whisking. Tip: Whisking the eggs with sugar helps, too. Now you can add the tempered eggs to the hot milk without worrying that the eggs will curdle or scramble. Keep stirring over medium heat as the custard thickens.
Recipes for custards and other egg-thickened dishes require combining the eggs with the liquid to be thickened. Most reflexively call for a tempering step—in which hot liquid is whisked into the eggs, after which that diluted egg mixture is whisked back into the rest of the hot liquid—to ensure the eggs don't scramble.
Whenever I make an eggy dish, such as custard or bread pudding and sometimes scrambled eggs it always gets watery. What am I doing wrong? You are probably cooking your egg dishes too hot for too long.
This is most likely due to the cooking temperature being too high. When cooking your custard base, make sure the temperature of your custard does not go higher than 185°F (85°C). This will cook the custard enough to pasteurize your eggs, but will not result in an eggy flavor.
But when you overcook a custard, suddenly the connection is very, very clear. A nasty eggy taste takes up residence and won't go away. That's likely the result of heat breaking down the protein components cysteine and methionine to release sulphur, says Crosby.
Custard, soup, or sauce recipes often require cooks to temper eggs. Tempering eggs means slowly combining cold beaten eggs with a hot liquid to produce a silky, thick texture.
The cause of a blood spot is simply a ruptured blood vessel on the yolk's surface as the egg is forming. This is a natural, benign process for both hen and egg. Instances of blood spots can increase when hens in a flock get excited by changes in lighting, changes in temperature, or simply shifting seasons.
Custard is a creamy, light dessert or sauce made from boiling or baking an egg-and-milk mixture. Custards are of two types—stirred or baked. They are used as desserts, sauces, bases for other desserts, and some savory dishes, such as a quiche or a frittata.
Custard tarts have long been a favourite pastry in Britain and the Commonwealth, where they are often called "egg custard tarts" or simply "egg custards" to distinguish the egg-based filling from the commonly served cornflour-based custards.
The most basic difference is that boiled custard is heated while true eggnog isn't. Both are made with milk, half and half, or cream, eggs, sugar, and usually a little vanilla. However, eggnog is very fluid and creamy because it hasn't been heated. Custard becomes thicker as it is heated, as the eggs cook.
Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a bowl until completely combined. Pour egg mixture into 6 custard cups; sprinkle tops with nutmeg.
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