Baked Custard

Use the same proportions as for boiled custard. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together to a cream; stir in the scalded milk; turn into a pudding-dish or into cups; grate a little nutmeg over the top; stand it in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. Test by running a knife into the custard. If it comes out clean, it is done; if milky, it needs longer cooking; but it must be carefully watched, for it will separate if cooked too long.

A custard, to be smooth and solid, must be baked very slowly. The holes often seen in baked custard are caused by escaping bubbles of steam, which rise through the mixture when the heat reaches the boiling-point.

Caramel Custard

Put a cupful of granulated sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water; stir until melted; then let it cook until a light brown color (see caramel, page 78). Turn one half the caramel into a well-buttered mold which has straight sides and flat top, and let it get cold. Into the rest of the caramel turn a half cupful of hot water, and let it stand on the side of the range until the caramel is dissolved. This is for the sauce.

Stir four yolks and two whole eggs, with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one half saltspoonful of salt, to a cream, but do not let it froth; add a pint of scalded milk and a half teaspoonful of vanilla. Strain this into the mold onto the cold hardened caramel. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and bake in a very moderate oven until firm in the center; test by running in a knife (see baked custard), and watch it carefully. The water in the pan must not boil, and the oven should be so slow that it will take at least an hour to cook the custard. It will then be very firm and smooth. Unmold the custard when ready to serve. It will have a glaze of caramel over the top, and some will run down the sides. Serve the caramel sauce in another dish. This dish is recommended.

Chocolate Cream Custard

Use the same proportions as for caramel custard. Add one and one half ounces of melted chocolate (see page 388). Strain it into a buttered mold, and bake slowly the same as caramel custard. Unmold when cold, and serve with or without whipped cream.

Both the caramel and the chocolate cream custards may be baked in individual timbale-molds, if preferred.

Rennet Custard

Sweeten and flavor the milk; heat it until lukewarm; then turn it into the glass dish in which it is to be served. Add to each quart of milk a tablespoonful of liquid rennet (which comes prepared for custards), and mix it thoroughly. Let it stand where it will remain lukewarm until a firm curd is formed; then remove carefully to a cold place. If jarred the whey is likely to separate. Brandy or rum make the best flavoring for this custard, but any flavoring may be used. It may be served without sauce, but a whipped cream, colored pink, improves it, and also takes away the suggestion of soured milk which curds give.