Brandy & Vanilla Custard
This brandy & vanilla custard is incredibly creamy, pleasantly boozy & full of flavour. The perfect accompaniment to a homemade Christmas pudding!
Servings: 6 People
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Food Probe
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 500 g Whole Milk
- 250 g Double Cream
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- ½ Vanilla Bean (or 1 tsp Vanilla Paste)
- 1 Orange - Zested
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 100 g Egg Yolks (Roughly 6 Yolks)
- 25 g Cornflour
- 25 ml Brandy
Instructions
- Add the milk, cream, 50 grams of the sugar, the pinch of salt, orange zest & vanilla into a saucepan.
- Set the pan over a low heat & leave to get steaming hot, stirring occasionally. Don't let the milk boil though!
- Whilst your milk is warming up, place the egg yolks, cornflour & the remaining sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth then set aside.
- Once the milk is warm, gradually pour half of it into the yolks, whisking constantly as you do so.This is called tempering the egg yolks.
- Pour the tempered yolks back into the pan of milk then set over a low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the custard reaches 82°c/180°f.If you haven't got a food probe, the custard is ready when it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Take the custard off the heat, stir in the brandy then pass into a jug, through a sieve.Alternatively, pass into a container, place a piece of baking parchment onto the surface of the custard then leave to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan, over a low heat.
Notes
1. Cooking On An Aga – Use the simmering plate to warm the milk & cook the custard.
2. Vanilla - A good quality vanilla works best when making custard. I like to use half a vanilla bean (with the seeds scraped out) but a teaspoon of vanilla paste will work as well.
3. Brandy - You can use whatever brandy you like for this custard or leave it out completely if you'd prefer. Other spirits like amaretto or rum will work as well.
4. Cooking The Custard – Make sure to cook the custard gently, whilst stirring constantly, to avoid curdling the eggs.
5. Storage – If you’re not serving the custard straight away, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
6. Reheating – To reheat the custard, warm it in a saucepan over a low heat. Alternatively, warm in the microwave in 20 second bursts. Make sure to warm the custard gently, to avoid scrambling the eggs.