I bring you the traditional egg custard recipe from my family. The ratio of yolks to whites in a custard is important to achieve the proper flavor and texture, and for me this recipe is perfect.
I love egg custard; I always have. If they let me -and they did sometimes- I'd eat them two at a time, and lucky for me my grandmother's recipe was followed exactly by my mother, and I keep it too.
Making custard seems easy, and in fact it is: you mix three ingredients -eggs, milk and sugar- and it always turns out well. You need to watch the caramel so it doesn't burn too much and let it cool before filling the molds, but it's easy for an egg custard to turn out well.
But it turns out my grandmother's recipe is delicious in flavor and texture, and that's not so common. You should know when making custard that the whites, when mixed with sugar, foam and introduce air into the mixture which becomes bubbles, and those will make the custard break or crack and the texture won't be as firm as it should be.
That's why grandma's custard recipe has a higher proportion of yolks than whites, and you get a dense texture like I like, but soft enough to melt in your mouth. Here it is.
Ingredients (for 8 8 cm* ramekins)
- 3 whole eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 7 heaping tbsp of white sugar
- 700 ml of milk
- Sugar and water for the caramel
Preparation
- Prepare the caramel. Put the ramekins on the heat with 1.5 generous dessert teaspoons of sugar in each ramekin. Add a few drops or a teaspoon of water to the sugar and wait for it to start caramelizing -when it does, stir the sugar by moving the ramekin, never touching the sugar with any utensil because it would crystallize. Spread the caramel that is forming around the ramekin by moving it. Set aside and let it cool.
- Now for the mixture. In a bowl, beat the eggs and yolks a little (do not overbeat).
- Add the 7 tablespoons of sugar (they should be heaping tablespoons, not level).
- Mix and add the 700 ml of milk. Continue mixing until everything is well integrated (you can do this with the ball whisk, that way you don't add air to the mixture).
- Divide the mixture among the ramekins.
- In a pot with a few centimeters of water put the ramekins to make a bain-marie over the heat. Cover to speed up cooking, but uncover from time to time to check that the simmering is controlled and that water doesn't get into the ramekins.
- After about 35 or 40 minutes they will be ready. Prick with a toothpick to confirm they are set and remove.
- To brown them, put them under the grill for a few minutes. My mother always says that this makes them last better, more days and become firmer (I don't know if they actually last more days... at home they disappear in two).
Comments
Javier said:
Cuando dices 7 cs de azucar llenas, te refieres a cucharas de café, de postre o soperas?? Gracias!!
Una Casa con Vistas said:
Hola, ¿no infusionas la leche con limón y canela? ¿Si queremos hacerlo al horno cuánto tiempo sería?
https://www.unacasaconvistas.com/
Paqui said:
Uy disculpa Claudia! no Eva…
paqui said:
Hola Eva, entiendo que no los haces al horno sino al fuego al baño Maria, estoy en lo correcto o he entendido mal? Mil gracias por esas recetas tan maravillosas!
Claudia said:
Hola Eva, pues en unos 35 minutos tienen que estar hechos. Yo los dejo despresurizándose de forma natural y alargo un poco más hasta que abro, pero en ese tiempo deberías tenerlos :) Saludos!
Claudia said:
La verdad es que a mi me encantan así, Encarnación, a ver si tienen éxito en casa :) ¡Gracias!
Claudia said:
Muchas gracias Maria Emília, feliz de que te gusten. Si los haces ya me contarás :)
Eva said:
Y en la olla rápida cuanto tiempo?
Encarnacion said:
Què pinta más buena
Maria Emília Gomez sosa said:
Q buena pinta tienen esos flanes!