English Custard

By Craig Claiborne

Total Time
10 minutes, plus 1 hour's chilling
Rating
4(49)
Comments
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Featured in: YOUNG CHEFS; FROM ANTHROPOLOGY TO HAUTE CUISINE

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Ingredients

Yield:8 or more servings
  • 3egg yolks
  • ⅔cup sugar
  • ⅔cup milk
  • 1cup heavy cream
  • ⅛teaspoon salt, if desired
  • ¼cup brandy
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

210 calories; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 56 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place yolks in a saucepan and add sugar. Beat with wire whisk until thick and lemon-colored.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, bring milk almost but not quite to boil.

  3. Step 3

    Gradually add milk and cream to yolk mixture, beating constantly. Stir constantly with wooden spoon, making certain spoon touches bottom of saucepan all over. Cook, stirring, and add salt. Cook until mixture has custardlike consistency and coats side of spoon. Do not let sauce boil, or it may curdle.

  4. Step 4

    Immediately remove sauce from stove, but continue stirring. Set saucepan in a basin of cold water. Let sauce cool to room temperature, then add brandy. Chill an hour or longer.

Ratings

4 out of 5
49 user ratings
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Comments

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margot

Awfully sad. Far too sweet. The volume of sugar or something else also seemed to impact the viscosity, seemed something more akin to crème anglais than proper English custard. Clearly should’ve turned my eyes to Delia Smith, Nigella or someone of that ilk. Adding expected cook time or temp would also be a nice addition. Thanks!

abi

Too sweet. I did change the ratios maybe slightly when I scaled the recipe down by a third, but still the amount of sugar called for seems a bit much, especially as I was serving over our Christmas pudding. I’d usually just do a few tablespoons in custard. Good consistency and method though

gaye

Quite sweet. Next time I’ll halve the amount of sugar

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