Photo by Jun Pang
Custards are probably the first things you learn to make in trade school when it comes to sweets.
Trick here is temperature control and the best way around this is usually a double boiler. A double boiler is a bowl above simmering water. This allows for gentle, even heat on what ever you are cooking. When you are making custards especially for the first time, you must use a double boiler, it is user friendly for the novice pastry cook.
I won’t lie, you might want to try this recipe a few times. The custard has to be “totally” cooked correctly and with the correct consistency otherwise it won’t set then you can’t brulee it. It is such a fine line between the right amount of doneness and being over cooked and coming up with scrambled eggs.
Keep stirring the custard and make sure you “never” leave it, other wise it will over cook, trust me, even the best chefs muck this one up but stick with it, try it over and over again because getting the ingredients together is easy, the hardest bit is the correct doneness and it will only be through practice that you will recognize what that is. After that, you will be doing it with your eyes shut!
So get cracking, if first you fail, try again!!
Baked Orange and Cardamom Custard Tart
Makes about 12
720ml Cream
1tblspn Grand Marnier
5cm Piece of Ginger finely sliced
5 Cardamom Pod crushed
1 Cinnamon Stick
14 Small Egg Yolks
80gr Caster Sugar
1 Orange Zest
½ the Short Crust Pastry Recipe previous article
Method
- Place the cream, Grand Marnier, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and bring to boil
- Once boiled, place it in jug and refrigerate
- Next day, reheat the cream in the sauce pan to boil, once boiled, add the orange zest and set aside for about 5 minutes
- After 5 minutes, strain the cream mixture
- Put the egg yolks in a large mix bowl and whisk together then add the sugar and whisk until combined thoroughly
- Pour the cream mix into the egg mix and whisk through
- Put a pot of water on to simmer large enough to hold ¾ of the bowl on top of the pot
- Place the bowl on top of the pot and using a temperature resistant rubber spatula, mix the egg and cream mixture
- Cook on this double boiler for about 12-15 minutes or until the mixture is thick, with no lumps. Use the spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Do not at any time allow the bowl to touch the water, it will over cook the egg
10. Remove from the heat once you have the correct thickness and whisk for a couple of minutes to cool (over ice water if necessary)
11. Refrigerate over night
12. Place the custard into a piping bag
13. Pipe into the tart shells
14. Sprinkle evenly with caster sugar then brule with a torch gun until golden