Spiced egg custard with a touch of orange

Here I come bringing another perspective to such a traditional dessert as home-made egg custard. Basic recipe is fantastic and I would not change it for anything, everything has to be said, but from time to time a bit of investigation is worth it. In this case, I have given it a touch with the spices I like most to experiment the contrast with orange dust. And it’s amazing!

Regarding decoration, I could not hold back with the visual effect: a bit of grinded coconut to emulate a “snow-covered egg custard” to celebrate the end of my first winter in Helvetian lands, that despite the novelty I have to say that it has turned too looong and cold for me (especially during the journey from the plane to the terminal, please put a finger or covered walkway soon!).

Ingredients for 6 units

500 ml of fresh whole milk
4 eggs
3 or 4 tablespoons of white sugar
1 teaspoon of orange dust
1/2 teaspoon of grinded cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of grinded ginger

To caramelize molds

2 tablespoons of white sugar
2 tablespoons of water

Directions

First of all, let’s caramelize moulds. To do so, put in a saucepan 2 tablespoons of white sugar, together with 2 tablespoons of water, and simmer it to low heat until it boils and gets brown. Pour it quicky into the moulds so that it does not thicken in the saucepan. Let it retrieve room temperature while you prepare custard.

Whisk eggs together with sugar. Add spices and orange dust, and finally, milk.

Pour the mixture into the caramelized moulds.

Here there come the two variants: with pressure cooker or without pressure cooker. If you have pressure cooker, place inside the custards covered with a lid (so that they do not get wet with wáter boiling) and fill the bottom of the cooker with water until at least 2/3 of the height of the moulds. Heat it and count 5 minute since when it starts boiling. Let it rest for 2-3 hours inside the cooker.

If you do not have pressure cooker, you can heat it in a double saucepan or also in a single one with a bigger height than the one of the custards. Put the custards covered with a lid and fill the bottom with warm water until at least 2/3 of the height of the moulds. Heat it and count 15 minutes since when it starts boiling. Let it rest for 2-3 hours inside the cooker.

Once they are cool, put them in the fridge.

To be considered

You can serve it with whipped cream, grinded coconut or fruit in syrup.

If during the time when it is boiling water is boiled away, you can add more; just make sure to add it to the same temperature as the water in the saucepan (boiling).

Tags: crème caramel, spices, egg