[Sca-cooks] Custard

Stefan li Rous StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
Fri Mar 28 20:12:22 PDT 2008


Adamantius commented:
> << While we're on the subject, Mrs. Beeton maintained that only  
> goose or
duck eggs went into a really proper custard. I don't know that I
agree, but it seems to be what she thought. >>>

Mighty hard to find duck or especially goose eggs these days. And I  
don't live close enough to Phlip to get any from her. :-) (Phlip, are  
you back home yet?)  I guess the next time I look through the Asian  
groceries I'm going to have to look for fresh duck eggs, just so I  
can see if they taste different to me than chicken eggs.

<<< I actually got to dredge up the old restaurant formula (6 eggs or 12
yolks, 1 quart liquid, half-cup sugar plus optional flavoring) to
coach someone over the phone yesterday, someone who had never made
custard and who scarcely knew what to look for, through a successful
custard tart. That was kinda fun. I was getting calls every five
minutes: "It's been in the oven fifteen minutes and it hasn't set.
What did I do wrong??? What can I do about it??? Heeeeeelp!!!" >>>

So what *is* the secret? I baked a custard tart for the pot luck at  
our Yule Revel last December and ended up baking it for at least  
twice the time the recipe stated because the center upper portion  
wouldn't firm up. I finally gave up and let it cool down and put it  
in the refrigerator overnight which stiffened it up sufficiently, but  
for a while I thought I'd be having to serve a half custard pie/half  
custard soup concoction.

Perhaps some of the problem was the redaction. I do often prefer to  
cook from others redactions considering them to be more likely to be  
accurate than my guesses. I didn't have the original recipe or source  
to check the redaction against. This is what I cooked from, although  
I took a shortcut and used a store bought crust rather than trying to  
make my own. Despite my misgivings, it did turn out okay, and was  
apparently well-liked since there was none left to bring home.

<<<<Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 02:08:39 EST
From: korrin.daardain at juno.com (Korrin S DaArdain)
Subject: SC - Recipes x3

M'Lords and M'Ladys,
         I thought people might enjoy these.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--------

         Custard with Dates and Raisins, Spiced
         From "The Tudor Kitchen's Cookery Book" Hampton Court Palace;
Printed in The Oregonian Newspaper Food Day Mar 10, 1998.

         Creamy, rich custards are as popular today as they were in  
Tudor
times, and the method of making them is very similar. Spices and dried
fruits were added or other flavorings such as marigold petals, which
would also add a rich golden color. If you want to make the custard
alone, omit the pastry from this recipe and bake in an oven proof dish,
but instead of putting the dried fruit on the base, sprinkle it over the
top after cooking.
         Pastry:
         2 cups all-purpose flour
         1/2 cup butter
         2 tb sugar
         Cold water to mix
         Rub the flour and butter together until it resembles fine  
crumbs,
stir in the sugar if you want a slightly sweet crust. Add about 2 to  
3 ts
of cold water and mix into a firm dough; knead lightly until smooth.
Roll out pastry and line a deep, 8-inch springform cake tin. Bring the
pastry right up the sides, moulding with your fingers, if necessary.
Pinch the top edge to decorate, prick the base and chill for about half
an hour. Line the pastry case with foil or wax paper and baking beans,
place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 deg for 25 minutes, removing the
foil or paper and beans for the last 5 minutes. While crust bakes, make
filling.
         Filling:
         2 cups whipping cream
         3 tb sugar
         2 tb butter
         3 cloves
         1/2 ts ground mace
         1 pinch saffron
         3 egg yolks
         Heat the cream with the sugar, butter, cloves, mace and saffron
until just on the point of boiling. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Reduce
oven to 350 deg. Beat the yolks in a bowl and strain the hot cream on
top, wisking to mix well. Sprinkle the chopped dried fruit onto the
pastry base and pour in the custard. Return to the oven for about 30
minutes, until just firm and very slightly wobbly in the center. Remove
and cool. The center of the custard should then firm as it cools without
over cooking. Refrigerate if not serving right away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--------

Korrin S. DaArdain
Dodging trees in the Kingdom of An Tir.
Korrin.DaArdain at Juno.com >>>

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****





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