Baked Brown Sugar Custard

Baked Brown Sugar Custards.

 

 

 

 

 

The hotel bakers were the first to arrive before my dad. Toni was the one who I would spend most of the morning with and she unknowingly taught me how to bake.

She would turn on the ovens and get the big stainless steel urns of coffee on the go and start baking  the fresh proofed bread, scones, parker house rolls and sweet buns first thing. She was a very meticulous pastry chef and made every step count.

I think about her now and when I was around five, she must have been in her late fifties. She would always be patient with me when showing me how to do a new procedure that she felt I was ready to take on.

I inherited her same method of patients when teaching a recipe with children.

I would help  the other baker Ida make these simple little custard flans for Sunday Night’s Dinner Dessert. I got to make a ban marie bath  to set the custard ramekins in row for her to fill and I would then set them into the double boiler.

They were made a day or so ahead and were refrigerated till needed. These scrumptious desserts are somewhat like crème caramel.

The caramelized brown sugar adds a delicious toffee flavour.

These little gems can be baked in small glass flan cups or in a 4 oz. ramekins.

Baked Brown Sugar Custards
2 large eggs.

1/4 cup soft dark brown sugar.

7 oz whole milk.

3 ½ oz. double cream.

Zest of 1 small lemon or orange.

Soft dark brown sugar, for sprinkling and glazing on top.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Add the brown sugar and mix well.

Place the milk, cream and orange zest into a saucepan and bring up to simmering point. Remove from the heat and gradually pour onto the egg and sugar mixture, whisking all the time. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large measuring cup with a spout and skim off any froth from the surface that has appeared.

Place the cups or ramekins in a baking dish or wide shallow pan and fill them up with the custard. Pour enough hot water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the cups or ramekins and cover with some foil. Bake in the oven for about approximately 35 minutes or until the custards are just set in the center. When cooked remove the custards from the baking dish and warm to cool. Sprinkle a little bit of the extra brown sugar on top just before serving and caramelize under your broiler until the sugar is glazed.                             [Makes 6 Ramekins]

thekitchenman