Karl’s Orange Custard

I made Jan’s orange custard earlier this week and I decided to add some of my Ultimate Micro Orange Marmalade. While I thought it was perfect, Jan thought it was too sweet—Jan’s custard already had half of the sugar that most of the recipes on-line use. To please her I eliminated the Orange Infused Sugar entirely. This dish does not suffer for having only a small bit of sugar.

Karl’s Orange Custard

Note: If you have not made my micro-marmalade you may use any orange jelly. You may use regular orange marmalade, but that would leave large chunks of rind in the custard.

Jan prefers to make individual custard cup, because it is easier to control your portions. You may make one large custard in a large bowl to serve a group. The only important thing is that your custard holder(s) will easily fit into a large baking pan that you half fill with water while baking.

Recently, we discovered the joys of Strauss milk products. Making this with full cream whole milk really is better than using over pasteurized supermarket milk. If you are not watching your diet, using their whipping cream, and making it a flan, would be even better.

Karl’s Orange Custard

Ingredients

4 whole eggs
1 Tbs. Karl’s Ultimate Micro Orange Marmalade (or orange jelly)
1 tsp. vanilla
¼+ tsp. nutmeg, fresh grated

2 cups Strauss whole milk

Directions

1. Put the eggs in a small bowl and whisk in the marmalade, vanilla, and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. Reserve this mixture until later.

Tip: Many recipes call for using just the egg yolks in making custards; that is not our practice.

2. Put the milk into a medium sauce pan and heat until just steaming.

Tip: You do not want the milk to boil. You want it just warm enough to start to steam.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the egg mixture.

Tip: It is a very fine line between the milk being hot enough and too hot for the eggs to mix in smoothly. Many recipes call for straining out the cooked egg whites come from the milk being too hot. I have found that if you do not even approach the boiling point, the milk and egg combine smoothly and cooked whites are not a problem,

4. Pour the mix into the custard holder(s) and place it (them) into a larger baking pan.

5. Grate a bit of fresh nutmeg over the custard(s).

6. Pour boiling water into the baking pan until it is half way up the sides of the custard holder(s).

Tip: Be careful not to splash the hot water into the custard holder(s).

7. Place the baking pan in a 300° F oven for 30 minutes.

Tip: We originally cooked the custards like our mother’s did for one hour, until a toothpick would come out clean. This produces custard with a thick tough surface. Cooking for only a half hour, until the top does not jiggle, makes for  a smooth tender custard.

8. You may serve the custard warm or cold, but it is best slightly warm.

Tip: If you have made the custard more than an hour ahead of when you plan to serve it, it is a good idea to put it in the refrigerator.  Twenty seconds on high in the microwave will warm it enough to serve, without overcooking it.