Vanilla Custards with Roasted Blueberries
Vanilla Custards with Roasted Blueberries
This is my go-to custard recipe these days, adopted over the years (using less thickener and a range of butter amounts) from Julia Child. It can be used as the base for a fresh fruit tart in the yield listed below. It doesn’t make a terrible lot, just about 1ish cups of custard. I divided them into five tiny cups and we enjoyed our tiny desserts, but for a crowd or people with more than teacup tastes in dessert, definitely double it.
Vanilla beans can get expensive sometimes, I know, but one thing I don’t think enough recipes tell you is that you don’t need to use all or even half of a vanilla bean to get a clear vanilla flavor. I went ahead and used half a bean here, but I also think you can get great vanilla flavor from even a quarter bean. Heck, I’ve even used 1-inch segments of a bean before in a small yield of a dessert.
Ingredients:
Custards
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1/4 to 1/2 vanilla bean (see Note) or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons (see Note) unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1/4 to 1/2 vanilla bean (see Note) or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons (see Note) unsalted butter
berries 1 cup blueberries
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Juice from a wedge lemon, or to taste
Juice from a wedge lemon, or to taste
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, combine your milk and vanilla bean flecks (if using extract instead, don’t add it yet). Heat the mixture until it is warm, then set aside. You can also do this in a microwave. If your saucepan or microwave dish has a small spout, even better.
- In the bottom of a small saucepan, off the heat, beat or whisk your egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar together vigorously, until it pales in colour and a ribbon of batter falls off your whisk when you lift it from the bowl; this will take a few minutes by hand, and likely just one minute with an electric mixer. Whisk in the flour until fully incorporated.
- Whisking the whole time, drizzle the warm vanilla-milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about 1/4 of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
- Bring the saucepan to your stove and heat it over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. Once bubbling, whisk it for 1 to 2 more minutes, then remove it from the heat.
- Immediately stir in vanilla extract (if using) and butter until combined. [Updated to add] As a final step for a perfectly smooth and silky custard, you can press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. You can also skip this step if you’re not terribly concerned about an imperfect custard.
- To cool your custard quickly, place the saucepan in a larger bowl of ice water that will go halfway up the sides of the saucepan (i.e. water should not spill in) and stir the custard until lukewarm, then divide among serving dishes or ramekins.
- You can also pour it into serving dishes or ramekins still hot, but you should then press a film of plastic wrap against each custard in the fridge so it doesn’t form a pudding skin. Custards keep in fridge for up to 4 days.
To serve:
Pre-heat oven to 450°F. Place blueberries in a heat proof, shallow roasting dish and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Roast in oven for 12 to 15 minutes, rolling around once or twice during cooking time to ensure they roast evenly. The goal is not to let the blueberries fully slump or turn to sauce; you just want a little trickle of juices puddled across in the bottom. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over berries the second they come out of the oven and roll them back and forth to evenly incorporate it. Spoon hot roasted blueberries and some of their juices over each custard. Eat immediately, passing any extra roasted blueberries alongside.
Pre-heat oven to 450°F. Place blueberries in a heat proof, shallow roasting dish and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Roast in oven for 12 to 15 minutes, rolling around once or twice during cooking time to ensure they roast evenly. The goal is not to let the blueberries fully slump or turn to sauce; you just want a little trickle of juices puddled across in the bottom. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over berries the second they come out of the oven and roll them back and forth to evenly incorporate it. Spoon hot roasted blueberries and some of their juices over each custard. Eat immediately, passing any extra roasted blueberries alongside.
source: smittenkitchen
