Custard (Creme Anglaise) Cake - Not too pretty, but tastes great

My family's favorite cake is the tasty -- but not very attractive looking -- Custard Cake.

We call the cooked egg & milk mixture "Custard", but it is also known by its fancy-pants name - Creme Anglaise (sorry I couldn't figure out how to put the accent on the Creme).  Now the strange thing is that half the family just LOVE and adore this cake.  Their eyes roll back in their head and their face takes on a dreamy look at the mere mention of the cake.  But the other half of the family (include me) can't stand the nasty looking stuff.  Fluffy cake saturated with sweetened cream and eggs just don't appeal to me --- call me crazy.

So at least twice a year I bite my tongue and make a cake that I won't even taste.  Now if that is not love I don't know what is!!

And to make matters worse, this unappealing cake is very difficult to make!  One false step and the custard will curdle, and curdled custard is not a pretty thing.  Curdled custard still tastes good, but it looks like crap. Sometimes you can save curdled custard, but sometimes you just need to admit defeat and start all over.

The first step in the Custard Cake is baking the cake.  I just use a boxed mix -- French Vanilla -- either Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, and add an extra teaspoon of almond extract.  I used a silicone fluted pan, but any tube pan will work.

When the cake is cool, cut it in half and brush one side with  1/4 cup of melted jelly.  I like to use seedless raspberry or strawberry, but you can use any flavor. 

Put the bottom half of the jam brushed cake in a large bowl so that it is ready and waiting when the custard is finished cooking.  Ideally you want to pour the hot custard on the cut cake so all the creamy custard gets absorbed into the cake.

After the cake it prepped and waiting, start on the custard.  In my recipe I use 10 egg yolks, but I have found over the years that the proportions are pretty flexible.  You can use more or less eggs, more of less sugar and milk.  More eggs (less milk) and the custard will be thicker; less eggs (more milk) and the mixture will be more fluid.  You can really customize the recipe to suit your taste and needs.  But for this cake I use 10 egg yolks.  And make sure you remove the chalaza.  You don't want white bands of egg tissue floating in your smooth custard - yuck.

Next beat the eggs with about 1/2 cup of granulated white sugar (you can also use Splenda if you want to make it low carb).  IMPORTANT - it is critical that you beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they are creamy.  If the yolks are not beaten enough they will form clumps of scrambled eggs in the milk.

Now the next part I do a little differently than real cooks.  I put the beaten sugar and yolks directly into the pot with the COLD milk, cream, sugar, and extracts.  I don't temper the yolks with small amounts of the heated milk.  I just dump all the cold ingredients into one big pot and slowly start heating.  That is the way my grandmother taught me to make it, and that is how I do it every time.  Maybe one day I'll try the tempering method and see if it makes a difference.

Anyway all the ingredients go into a cold pot.  I stir it very well before I apply any heat.  I stir and stir, and I make sure I get rid of the egg yolk dripping on the side of the pot.  For my pot I either use a heavy Magnetite pot or a stainless steel pot.  Taste-wise I've never noticed a difference.  There are reports that it is healthier to cook in stainless steel, but I've had trouble with food sticking to the stainless steel.  So when cooking the custard I just use whichever pot is closest. 

So everything is in the pot, and I constantly stir as I slowly increase the temperature.  I have an electric glass top stove and the highest I go is 4.5 (just a notch below medium which is 5).

Keep stirring as the liquid warms.  As the eggs start to cook and solidify you will start to feel resistance from the liquid as you stir.  Lift the spoon often and look at how the liquid coats the back of the spoon.  The custard is cooked perfectly when the custard starts to cling to the back of the spoon.

Looks ready to me...

But when cooking custard ALWAYS have an ice bath ready and waiting.  In the photo above I judged the custard ready and snapped a picture, but before I could put the camera down and remove the pot -- the custard STARTED TO BOIL.  NOOOOO...  Boiling custard is not good.  I immediately submerged the hot pot in the ice water bath and stirred vigorously to quickly cool the custard, but the damage was done and the custard started to curdle.  Sniff...

But if your custard curdles a just little all is not lost.  You can use an immersion blender to break down the lumps, or you can just strain out the lumps.  Pour about half the custard on top of the cut cake and let the liquid sink into the holes and crevices of the cake.

Let the bottom sit in the custard for about 5 minutes, and then position the top half of the cake on the saturated bottom half.  Pour the rest of the custard over the top.  If you want the top half to absorb the custard you can just a long wooden skewer to poke holes in the cake, and then carefully spoon the over the top and into the holes.

At this point the cake will float and bob in its bath of custard.  To force the cake deep into the custard, and allow the cake to absorb more of the custard, I cover the cake with plastic wrap and weigh down the cake with something heavy.  I use the inverted cover of  a large pot.  The round handle fits nicely into the hole of the cake and I can put additional weigh onto the cover if the cake is still floating.

Put the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours.  Remove the lid and the plastic wrap and carefully spoon the custard on top of the cake.  At this point the custard is getting firmer, but it is still fluid enough to spoon over the cake.

Cover with plastic wrap again it store in the refrigerator overnight.

The longer you leave the cake the better it gets.  Or so my relatives say -- honestly I have never tasted the stuff.  (Give me a big slice of chocolate cake any day.)  To serve slice the cake, spoon some extra custard on top, and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.

Now doesn't that look yummy (or maybe not)....

Happy Baking,

Carol

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Custard Cake

Ingredients

• French Vanilla box cake mix - prepared according to instructions and baked in a tube or Bundt pan
• 1 teaspoon pure Almond Extract added to cake mix
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup melted fruit jelly 

• 10 egg yolks
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups granulated white sugar, divided
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4-5 teaspoons pure Almond Extract 

• Ice bath 

• Garnish with whipped cream

Instructions

1. Prepare the cake according to instructions on the box, adding 1 teaspoon of almond extract if desired.
2. When cake is baked and cooled cut in half.
3. Melt fruit jelly in microwave and brush the liquid onto the cut surface of the cake.   Use more or less jelly as desired.
4. Place bottom half of cake in large bowl and set it near the ice bath.
5. Prepare an ice bath.  Stopper the sink and fill will 2 inches of cold water.  Have a container of ice ready and dump the ice into the water just before you place the hot pot into the water.
6. Next start on the custard.  Whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth and creamy.  
7. In a large pot combine milk, cream, salt, remaining sugar, and almond extract.  You can add more or less sugar and almond extract to suit your taste.
8. Add the whisked, egg yolk mixture to the milk mixture, and stir vigorously until combined.
9. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat to simmer.  Stir constantly as you slowly increase the temperature under the pot to medium. 
10. Stir the mixture constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. About 6-8 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO BOIL.
11. When the custard if finished cooking place the hot pot into the prepared ice bath.  The cold water will rapidly cool the pot and stop the custard from cooking further. 
12. Ladle about about half the custard over the bottom half of the cake.  If you want, you can pass the custard through a strainer to remove any lumps.
13. Let the bottom half of the cake sit in the warm custard for five minutes.  This will allow the cake to absorb the custard.
14. Place the top of the cake on the bottom and ladle the rest of the custard over the cake.
15. If desired poke holes into the cake with a wooden skewer and then spoon more custard into the holes.
16. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and weigh down the cake with a heavy plate or the lid of a pot.  Forcing the cake to stay submerged in the custard will help the cake absorb the liquid.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
17. After 1-2 hours remove the lid/plate and plastic wrap.  Spoon more custard over the top of the cake.
18. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Note try not to touch the top of the cake with the plastic wrap.
19. When serving spoon the custard over a cut slice of cake and garnish with whipped cream.

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Low Carb Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 If you are on a Low Carb diet you know that your dessert options are few and far between, but one luscious treat you can eat is ICE CREAM!

Here is my first attempt at ice cream making -- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream...

My adventure into ice cream making began when I was given some Gourmet Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans.  If I wasn't on a Low Carb diet there would be hundred of things I could use them in, but since I was deep into induction my choices were limited.  I had just made mini cheesecakes, so I decided to give ice cream a try.

The ice cream begins with a custard base.  I just used my regular custard recipe and swapped out the granulated sugar for granulated Splenda, and used all heavy whipping cream instead of a half cream / half  whole milk ratio.  

In the first step I add 3/4 cups of Splenda, cream, a pinch of salt, the seeds from the vanilla beans, and the beans themselves to a saucepan.  Heat the mixture till it scalds and then cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks in a 1/4 cup of Splenda.   

You want the mixture to be smooth and creamy with no lumps.

Transfer the mixture to another pot and set aside.

Remove the vanilla beans and while whisking constantly, slowly pour the still warm milk mixture into the egg yolks.

Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and starts to coat the spoon.  Do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle.  

When the custard base is cooked pour it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove all the bits debris from the vanilla beans.

You will end up with a smooth, creamy ice cream base / custard that is good enough to eat just as it is...

But no, into the ice cream maker it goes.  I use a Cuisinart ICE-21R Ice Cream Maker, and in about 15 minutes I have ICE CREAM.   Yummy, delicious, lovely, ICE CREAM.  Who said you can't have dessert on a Low Carb.

Open wide, here comes a spoon full....

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Low Carb Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup granulated Splenda, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Over medium heat warm the cream, 3/4 cups of Splenda, and salt in a medium saucepan.
2. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the cream/Splenda mixture.  Add the bean skins to the mixture.
3. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and allow it to steep for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup Splenda until smooth and creamy.  Transfer the egg mixture to a second sauce pan.
5. Remove the vanilla bean skins from the cream/sugar mixture.  While whisking constantly, slowly pour the still warm cream mixture into the saucepan containing the egg yolk mixture.  Make sure you constant whisk the yolks as you pour the warm milk into it.  You will end up with scrambled eggs if you don't whisk the egg yolks as the warm cream is introduced.
6. Place the saucepan on medium heat and stir the mixture constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. About 8 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO BOIL.
7. When the ice cream base is cooked to the appropriate consistency, pour the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any lumps and bits of vanilla bean bark.
8. Stir in the vanilla extract and leave bowl on the counter until it cools.
9. Once the mixture is cool, cover and refrigerate until completely chilled.  At least 8 hours or overnight.
10. When the ice cream base is chilled, churn the ice cream according to the ice cream makers instructions.

Yield: 1 quart

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DB: Tiramisu

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

When I saw the February 2010 Daring Bakers’ Challenge I groaned. Tiramisu. Two tastes I hate most in the world (coffee & pudding) rolled into one dessert. I seriously considered not doing the challenge, but then I remembered my mom LOVES Tiramisu so I figured I could pawn the whole thing off on her.


The Tiramisu was composed of a lot of individual parts that made up the finished product. Mascarpone cheese, Savoilardi Biscuits, Zabaglione, pastry cream, and sweetened whipped cream. Each had to be made from scratch and then assembled.

First came the Mascarpone cheese. I had trouble from the beginning. You were supposed to use pasteurized whipping cream and using a double boiler, heat it to 190 degree. I don't have a double boiler, and all I could find at the store was ultra-pasteurized. I use an improvised double boiler, but no matter how long I heated, I couldn't get the temperature of the cream to rise above 170 degrees.


Finally I took the pot of cream out of my improvised double boiler and set it directly on the heat. The temperature shot up to 190 within seconds and the cream started to thicken.


After cooling, the mascarpone cheese went into a sieve lined with cheese cloth (I didn't have cheese cloth so I used a kitchen towel), and then into the frig for overnight chilling.


Next came the Zabaglione (what in the heck is that?). Egg yolks, sugar, Marsala wine, vanilla and lemon zest, heated gently (in that double boiler again) until it thickens.

Pastry cream next. Same kinda ingredients: egg yolks, sugar, milk, lemon zest, vanilla, heat until thickened.


Now the cookies. Yes! Something I might actually eat. Whip together the egg whites and sugar and then add the yolks.



Add the flour to the egg mixture and fold gently.


Pipe the batter onto a parchment lined baking pan.


Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar and then bake for 15 minutes. I think I might have baked my cookie a little too long. They were a little hard and the bottoms were very brown.


With the cookies baked and my mascarpone, zabaglione, and pastry cream chilled it was time to start assembling the Tiramisu.


I de-sieved my mascarpone and found a hard lump. It was supposed to be soft and smooth, but mine had the consistency of cold butter. In other words: hard-as-a-rock. I guess using that ultra-pasteurized whipping cream did me in.


But I moved on. I beat my mascarpone till it softened a little and then dumped in the pastry cream and zabaglione. Looks kinda gross huh? Like jars of baby food all dumped together. Did I mention I don't like "cream/pudding" desserts. This kinda grossed me out.


Now comes the assembly part. Dip the Savoiardi biscuits (Lady Fingers), into sweetened coffee and line the bottom of the pan with the moist cookies.

Top with the cream/pudding mixture and then more cookies.


Refrigerate overnight, and then server. My Tiramisu wouldn't set, so I stuck it in the freezer to harden it up enough to cut.



And yes I did taste some. It had a lemony flavor and I didn't taste much coffee at all (which is a good thing for me).

So all-in-all the Tiramisu challenge was very enjoyable. I had a lot of fun making the individual components and assembling the finished product was a breeze. And you know what? Everyone who tried the Tiramisu honestly seamed to enjoy it (some even asked for seconds, and one person wanted thirds), and in the end making your guest happy is what is really important.

I'm sure glad I didn't skip this month's challenge. Thanks Aparna and Deeba for introducing me to a great new dessert.

TWD: Caramel-Topped Flan

For this New Year’s Day luncheon I decided to bake something “different”. After all the Thanksgiving, graduation & Christmas get togethers I figured family and friends were tired of my usually offering of pralines, brownies and sugar cookies. I polled for suggestion and my nine-year-old niece, Amanda, pleaded for Crème Brulee. She said she just “adores” Crème Brulee. (Insert tweeny scream here.) I think her obsession has something to do with the movie High School Musical or was it Twilight?
Oh well, not important…

In preparation of my first attempt at Crème Brulee I pulled out my well used copy of Dorri Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours, flipped to page 392 and skimmed the ingredient list. Cream: check, Milk: check, Eggs and Sugar: check, check. Blowtorch: che…. Wait a minute,

Blowtorch?

Umm, No. My teeny, tiny kitchen doesn’t boast a blow torch, or 20 individual Crème Brulee baking dishes I would need for all my lunch guest. Sorry, Amanda, no Crème Brulee for you.

But I happened to flipped to the next page in Dori’s book and found Caramel-Topped Flan. The ingredient list was exactly the same as the Crème Brulee. Humm… Flan - Crème Brulee - Flan. Almost the same thing, right?


So the baking began. It was New Year’s Eve afternoon and I was already baking three other desserts, AND I was peeling 15 pounds of shrimp that would go into our traditional New Year’s Day gumbo. No firecrackers or watching "The Ball" drop for me (or in the case of New Orleans residents we watch The Baby New Year (dressed this year as a Saints Player) drop/float down from atop Jax Brewery).

Making the Flan wasn’t too difficult, but there were a lot of steps which required lots of different pots and pans. Here is everything ready to go: 1) The eggs waiting to be whisked with the sugar. 2) The empty 8” round cake pan waiting to go into the oven to heat-up. 3) The pot with the cream and milk. 4) A roasting pan lined with paper towels (this is for the water bath that the flan cooks in). 5) The pot to make the caramel. 6) And you can’t see it in the picture, but I have a big measuring cup filled with water heating up in the microwave (I don’t have a tea kettle to warm it on the stove). Whew, can you say dirty dishes?


First, the 8” round cake pan goes into a preheated 350 degree oven to warm. Meanwhile, start cooking the caramel. Dorie said to cook it for about 5 minutes till it turned amber colored, but mine took about 8 minutes before it turned golden. From left to right are 1 minute of cooking, 5 minutes and 8 minutes.



Next, remove the hot cake pan from the oven (use a good potholder) and immediately pour the hot caramel into the pan. Swirl the pan to make sure the caramel coats the entire pan. WORK FAST. The sugar cools and hardens surprisingly quick. Set the pan aside and move onto the Flan.



Turn the heat on the pot with the cream and milk and bring it to a boil, meanwhile start whisking the sugar and vanilla into the eggs. Now comes the fun part: while still whisking the eggs, drizzle about ¼ of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Don’t dump all the milk in a once or the eggs will curdle and cook. Keep drizzling milk and whisking until all the milk is incorporated.

After all the milk has been added, skim off the bubbles and foam that your vigorous whisking has churned up.



Put the caramel coated cake pan into the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan. Put the roasting pan into the oven. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to reach about halfway up the side of the cake pan. My roasting pan was a little shallow, so I didn’t quite reach the halfway mark.


Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the top is golden brown in patches.

Let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for a least 4 hours. I let mine rest overnight. When ready to serve, run a knife between the flan and the pan, and invert onto a wide lipped serving platter. Make sure the rim of your platter is pretty high. Mine wasn’t high enough and I some of that luscious caramel topping sloshed out.

So how did it taste. Well, Amanda, gave it the thumbs down. It wasn’t Crème Brulee and she wouldn’t even taste it. The other guests thought it was so-so. But my Mom, who is a great lover of Flan, though it was pretty good (she ate all the leftovers). She did say that it needed to be sweeter and need more vanilla extract, but other than that it was pretty good. High praise indeed.

Maybe I’ll try it again one day.