Grandma's Boiled Custard

September 6, 2013




This, by far, is one of my absolute favorite of Grandma's recipes.  It is great for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Although there are few ingredients, it can be a tricky recipe due to the timing of mixing the various ingredients.   I don't believe I've ever had anybody else's boiled custard besides my Grandma's.  This custard is not as thin as an egg nog, but not quite as thick as a traditional custard.  I have so many fond memories of Grandma teaching me how to make this recipe, but I can honestly say that as an adult, I don't believe I've ever made this on my own.  Well this time was no exception.  I had to ask my mom to dig up the recipe and when she gave it to me, it was clear that I would need some help!  Here is what my Grandma's recipe looks like: 

Here is what the recipe says:  Heat one quart rich milk into a double broiler.  When boiling add well beaten yolks of three eggs diluted with 1/2 cup cold milk and 1 tbsp. flour.  Beat whites to a stiff froth.  Add a pinch of salt.  When well beaten add 1C sugar and beat till smooth.  Then add slowly to heated milk and cook till thickens.  Flavor when chilled.  Huh?  So, I called in my mom and my sister Julie to help interpret.

We gathered together one afternoon this  past week for lunch and cooking.  All of us studied that recipe card at length and began debating the various ways we remembered Grandma making boiled custard.  It was quite an experience and an experiment!  I am happy to say that the custard turned out great!  Several things can go wrong when making this dessert.  You can mix the cold egg mixtures too quickly with the other ingredients and cause them to cook, leaving bits of cooked egg in your custard.  You can also not heat the mixture enough for the yolks to set, causing it to have too thin a consistency.  With  a little help from my family, this turned out almost as good as Grandma's!! 

Here are the ingredients you will need to make boiled custard:  

* 1qt., plus 1/2 cup whole milk
* 3 large eggs, separated into yolks and egg whites
* 1 tbsp. all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar (Grandma's recipe calls for 1 cup, but my mom said she always used less.)
* a pinch of salt

For topping (ingredients to make homemade whipped cream, nutmeg is optional)
* whole nutmeg
* heavy whipping cream
* powdered sugar

                                                        minus the powdered sugar


1.  Separate the egg yolk and whites from three eggs.  Set aside to get to room temperature.

                                


2. Begin heating 1 qt. milk in double boiler over medium low heat.  While milk is heating, place 1 tbsp. flour in a bowl.  Slowly whisk 1/2 cup cold milk into flour.  Beat well the yolks of the three eggs and add it to the flour mixture.

 

 

 



3.  While milk is heating, paying careful attention that it hasn't boiled yet and stirring occasionally, beat egg whites of three eggs to a stiff froth.  Add a pinch of salt and continue to beat a few more minutes.  Then slowly beat in one cup sugar and set aside. 

 

 

 

4.  Here comes the hard part!  When milk is at a low boil,  you will need to stir the egg mixture into the hot milk very carefully.  Take a small amount of the heated milk and stir it constantly into the egg mixture to warm it up a bit first.  Then, take a portion of this egg mixture and pour it back into the pan with the milk while constantly stirring.  The idea is to slowly mix parts of each mixture back and forth between each, gradually adding more each time and constantly stirring, so that at no time, does the heat from the milk shock the egg mixture, causing the yolks to cook. Also, don't let the milk go to a strong boil at all during this time. Reduce heat if you need to.  Hope that makes sense!!!  Sorry no pictures of this one!  This step was too hard to photograph. 

5.  When you have completed step four, do the same back and forth process to stir the egg white mixture into the pan.  Cook at low boil stirring constantly until mixture easily and thickly coats the spoon.  Take off heat and transfer to different bowl and place into refrigerator to cool approximately 24 hrs.

 

 

 

 

6.   To serve custard, you should make homemade whipped cream!  None of that canned stuff!!  Beat heavy whipping cream with a dash of real vanilla extract until slightly thick.  Add powdered sugar to taste and continue beating until desired consistency.  We don't like ours very sweet.   Once cooled, put your custard into pretty mugs, ramekins or other individual serving dishes.  Top with a spoonful of whipped cream and finally add nutmeg to the top.  We use whole nutmeg that we grate with the fine setting on a cheese grater.  My grandmother actually had a small nutmeg grater, but I had to improvise.  Do yourself a favor and buy the whole nutmeg instead of  powdered nutmeg - its not as good. 

 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed making this together as a family!  We enjoyed making the custard and our boys enjoyed eating it!!  My husband Shane says, "This custard is awesome!  I am a huge egg nog fan, but this is much better than egg nog!"  My son Garret says, "I really love egg nog and this is even better!"

 

 

 

(Pictured:  From L to R - Julie, Mom and Shelby)

 

 

Hope you enjoy!! 

 

The Tripcony Family