Pudding and Custards

Preparation

1. Bland

   Step 1

   Toss a bay leaf or a pinch of ginger into almost any kind of custard. Bland puddings can benefit from the addition of ground allspice, cinnamon, ginger, mace (especially in chocolate), and nutmeg.

2. Burned

   Step 2

   Stop stirring. Pour off the pudding or custard into a new pot, leaving the burned part at the bottom. Taste to make sure you haven’t transferred the burned flavor and keep cooking—carefully this time, with much stirring.

3. Cold

   Step 3

   Hot puddings and custards can be reheated without cooking them more by covering them with lettuce leaves and returning to a warm oven until you are ready for them.

4. Curdling

   Step 4

   When custard starts to curdle, the first thing to do is to stop it from cooking any further. Do this by hastily putting the pan in cold water—better still, ice water. Then beat it with an eggbeater or whisk until it is smooth again.

   Step 5

   If the custard has already curdled, you can frequently uncurdle it with this time-consuming method: Add 1 tablespoon custard to 1 teaspoon milk or liqueur. Beat until creamy. Add the remaining custard 1 tablespoon at a time, beating each time until creamy. Then return to your recipe. You can also put your custard through a sieve or try blending it. It may end up thinner than you had planned, however, and thus become a custard sauce.

5. Separating (Baked custards)

   Step 6

   This is caused by too much heat. The oven should be set at 325°F, and the custard should be in Marie’s bath (that is to say, a bain-marie, with the custard dish standing in a pan of water).

6. Skin is forming (puddings)

   Step 7

   If the taste is compatible, sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar on the surface. If it is not, put waxed paper on the surface and remove it when the pudding has cooled.

7. Too thin

   Step 8

   If it’s a pudding, did it reach a full boil? It needs to in order for the starch to thicken it. If it has and it’s still too thin, for a creamy pudding, add one (not all) of the following for each cup of milk used: 3 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 1/2 tablespoons rice flour, 1 tablespoon arrowroot, or 1 tablespoon tapioca. For molded puddings, add any of the following for each cup of milk used: 4 tablespoons flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal, or 2 tablespoons rice flour. Mix the thickeners with a little cold milk before adding them, and be sure to bring the pudding to a boil.

   Step 9

   For soft custard, add 1 beaten egg (or 2 yolks or 2 whites) for each cup of milk.

   Step 10

   For molded custard, first make sure it has had plenty of time to cool, since custards thicken as they cool. If your custard is cool and still too thin, you have just created a base for a wonderful ice cream.