Cup custard

Cup custard has been one of my favorite desserts for as long as I can remember. My mother made it often when we were young, usually in the fall. It's really simple to make, just eggs, milk or cream, sugar, and vanilla, baked in a water bath in a low oven. My mother always put nutmeg on top, now I realize that was probably a trick--and a good one--to make them look like creme brulee's burnt sugar crust. The nutmeg tastes really nice with the cream, though. I prefer it to a burnt sugar crust, which, while delicious, inevitably gets stuck in your teeth. (When I was little I used to save the nutmeg-crusted corners for last, they tasted so good. Chewy and sweet.)

Last night, I opened the fridge and realized that I still had a lot of duck eggs to use, so I made them into a batch of custards. I used a mix of half-and-half and milk. My mother's original recipe is just whole milk, which produces a lighter, firmer custard then this one. As you'll see this is soft and a little loose without being runny, almost coddled in texture. Begging for a spoon. It tastes rich (almost too rich, I think next time I'll stick to just milk) and velvety, like a creme brulee, and it's nice and eggy just the way I like it!

When I was whisking the duck eggs I could definitely see their potential for making great cakes. But who has time for that? I'll take custard please.

Cup Custard (makes 4 large ramekins or 6 medium)

This is not my mother's recipe, because I don't have her cookbook, but it's probably not wildly different. If you wanted to get creative with the flavoring, you could infuse the milk/cream with something other than vanilla when you're heating it.

6 large egg yolks
3 cups of milk (or half-and-half or a mix of both, depending on how creamy you want it)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean split in half and scraped, or 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Grated nutmeg (I used fresh but the powder is fine)

First: put a kettle of water on to boil. Pre-heat the oven to 300-325 degrees. (My oven doesn't have a 325 option, so do what you can.)

1. Warm milk with vanilla bean (scrapings and pod) until hot but not boiling.
2. Whisk egg yolks vigorously until smooth and a little lighter in color, then add sugar and salt and whisk to combine.
3. Add the warmed milk/cream, slowly at first so you temper the yolks (tempering, this sounds fancy but isn't--just want to make sure the yolks don't scramble). Whisk to combine.
4. Pour the custard through a sieve into a pitcher if you have one for easy pouring.
5. Portion out the custard among your cups taking care not to fill them too high. Sprinkle generously with nutmeg.
6. Place cups in a roasting pan and fill the pan with warm water from your kettle until the water reaches halfway up the side of the cups.

7. Bake for 30 minutes until the custard is set and barely quivering. Remove from the pan with tongs if you have them (easier than maneuvering a pan filled with hot water) and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.