Baked Custards |
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| April-May, 1999 |
| Plain baked custard, bread pudding, rice
pudding, and variations of these, all follow the basic plan of a baked
custard. So, it is simpler to use the same basic recipe for all these
desserts. |
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Baked Custard |
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| When I make Baked Custard, I follow the Betty Crocker recipe with one adaptation since I don't like to scald milk. (I always forget it and it boils over onto the stove which makes a nasty mess to clean.) Powdered milk doesn't need to be scalded. |
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cup dry milk powder cups warm water cup sugar eggs, slightly beaten tsp. salt tsp. vanilla |
Nido, the brand of Mexican powdered milk, works quite well in this recipe. | ||
| Put all ingredients except water in a small bowl or 1-quart glass pitcher. Beat well with a fork or use your electric mixer. Add the water slowly while beating. Pour into 1 1/2 quart baking dish and sprinkle with a little nutmeg over the tops. Place in baking dish in pan of hot water 1-inch deep. Bake until tableware knife inserted 1" from the edge comes out clean -- about 50 minutes or so. Good warm or cold. | Sometimes I use brown sugar
instead of the white sugar. Cinnamon instead of nutmeg is good too. |
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Bread Pudding |
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| Essentially, I use the recipe for baked custard (above) and just add bread and raisins. |
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cups soft bread (torn into pieces) cup dry milk powder cups warm water cup sugar (1/2 cup, for sweeter pudding) eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute) tsp. salt tsp. nutmeg (or cinnamon, if preferred) cup seedless raisins tsp. vanilla |
Old bread seems to work better than very fresh bread. It is a good use for bread that is beginning to get a little dry. | ||
| Heat oven to 350 degrees. Soak raisins in 1/2 cup
of the water. Place bread pieces to cover the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart
baking dish. Blend remaining ingredients in a small bowl or pitcher; add
raisins, with the water and stir. Pour over the bread. Place baking dish
in pan of hot water 1" deep. (I use water that is boiling or very
close to boiling.) Bake until tableware knife inserted 1" from the
edge comes out clean -- about 50 minutes or so. Serve warm, and, if
desired, top with soft lemon pudding as a sauce. (If you decide to use "box"
lemon pudding for the topping, use cook and serve lemon pudding,
NOT instant and make it with extra water so it is soft.) 4-6
servings. |
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NOTE: Sometimes I add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. |
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| Chocolate Bread Pudding |
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| Make Bread Pudding as above, except, use 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces instead of raising and omit the nutmeg. Serve with chocolate syrup instead of lemon pudding. |
| Note: Any of the bread puddings can be made elegant. When the pudding is done baking, remove from the oven. Cover with a thin layer of jelly (or lemon pudding). Make a meringue by beating 2 egg whites until frothy. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Spread over the pudding. Return to the oven and bake about 15 minutes or until meringue is browned. Cool 20 to 30 minutes before serving. | |
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| Rice Pudding |
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| The above recipe for bread pudding can also be used for rice pudding. Just stir 2 cups cooked rice with the egg mixture in the above recipe and omit the bread. Also, omit the lemon topping. (Good use for leftover cooked rice.) |
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| Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. |
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| So, now instead of 3 or 4 or more recipes to keep track of, you can reduce it to one basic recipe. After you've made it a few times, you don't need the instructions anymore either. Now print that list of ingredients for Baked Custard, cut as small as possible, and tape inside your kitchen cupboard door. You only need to open the door of the cupboard to start making dessert. |
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