Eggless, No-Bake Custard -- Again and Again

Previously I attempted to make a custard that had no eggs and that could be made on the stovetop.  While that didn't quite work out, I did manage to save the food and make a good dessert.  See the recipe here:  Eggless, No-Bake Custard, A Tasty Failure.

Undaunted, I tried again.  Twice.  Here's what happened.

In the very first attempt I used heavy whipping cream and did not see any of the required curdling.  My Internet reading suggested that a better choice would be half-and-half because less cream would allow more curdling opportunities.

Let me note here that the first attempt did look a bit grainy, which I suspect was curdling.  It never got thick, which I think was because I put in too much wine.

So for attempt number two I used half-and-half.  I used the same amount of sugar (2 tablespoons), the same wine, and just a little more of the spices.



I definitely saw curdling but it didn't get very thick at all.  Again, I think I put in too much wine even though I used less than in the first attempt.

Curds!

I expected bigger curds, like I saw when I made Green Cheese.  However this is good because the little curds contributed very little to the texture.

It was served in a bowl garnished with a few berries.  It was thin enough that the berries sank!



Overall it was tasty and I would call it a success.  Creamy and slightly sweet.  The spice flavors came through and were pleasant.   Light, cool, and refreshing; just right for a hot day.

When the custard sat in the refrigerator for a few hours, it separated.  The curds on top were thicker and still tasty.  The liquid below tasted like thin wine with a bit of spice.  Not bad but not exciting.  I suppose I could put it in oatmeal or bread for flavor.

One guest taster suggested that the berries become the main part of the dessert and the custard become the topping.  This gave me a focus for the third attempt.

So one more try!  Honest!  I had to call it "Custard's Last Stand" to convince my family there would be no more attempts.  (They groaned.)

I used all the same ingredients as before except I forgot to add the spices at the end.  I measured the wine, putting in one tablespoon at a time, until I saw curdling.  It took 7 tablespoons to accomplish what I thought was a decent amount of curdling.

And then...

And then I was called away to take care of something and completely forgot that the custard was sitting on the stove on the (thankfully) very lowest heat.  I don't know how long it sat there.  When I found it, I hurriedly stirred it, put it in a bowl, and popped into the refrigerator, crossing my fingers that it wasn't ruined.

It wasn't!

In fact, it was excellent:  thick and creamy and flavorful with very little separation.  Certainly not the "curds and liquid" layers from attempt number two.  Really just a thicker part on top and a thinner part (both with curds) on the bottom.  The curds were bigger but still not a texture issue.

The missing spices were not missed.  I used the custard as a topping on a mixture of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

Yummy!

The second time I served it I added a mixture of breadcrumbs that had been mixed with butter and spices.  Actually it was the same mixture that I use to press into a pan as a crust for a tart, just not baked.  That added a nice crunch and a very light touch of cinnamon.  Note that I just sprinkled a few finger-fulls on top of the custard.

The berries were sweet and a little tart.  The custard was creamy, a little sweet, and a little tart from the wine.  The crunchy topping was, well, crunchy to offset the creamy and bring the flavors all together.

An unqualified success!

We had the same dessert several nights in a row and thoroughly enjoyed it each time.  Very refreshing.

Eggless, No-Bake Custard -- A Tasty Failure

I recently acquired a new book, American Cookery by Amelia Simmons.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4494-2313-1

First published in 1796 by Hudson & Goodwin, American Cookery is widely recognized as the first cookbook written by an American for American kitchens, and it is an important document in culinary history.  

It is a facsimile edition where the left page is in modern typeset and the right page is a scan of a copy in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society (AAS).   No redactions or interpretations of the recipes are included; the book is a faithful reproduction of the old version.  You can read more about it here.

When I found this book for sale, I was not certain at all I should buy it.  I had the strong feeling that I had read it already and didn't want to purchase a second copy.  But it was beautifully done with a red cloth cover and gold foil stamping, so I decided it was worth it.

As it turned out, I had read it but didn't own a print edition.  I had found a digital copy on my iPad.

The section that caught my attention the most was on custards.  There were several recipes offered, the first of which was to be cooked on the stove (not baked) and did not contain eggs.  I thought that was different enough that it might be worth a try.  When I found the digital copy, I was amused to see that I had bookmarked the page on custards already.

Digital page screen shot

So I decided to give the eggless, no-bake custard a try.  It seemed like a good recipe to know for when I am doing a public cooking demonstration since I usually cook over charcoal and rarely bake.

My Redaction

1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 bottle Moscato sweet wine
ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

More added later; see below.

I put the cream in a medium saucepan and started warming it over very low heat.  As it was warming I added the sugar, mixing in 1 tablespoon at a time, and tasting until it seemed right.  Two tablespoons made the cream very mildly sweet and I liked that, especially knowing that the wine was sweet.

Once the cream was too hot for me to keep my finger dipped in it, I started adding the wine.  It went in a few splashes at a time, stirring well with each addition.  The pan was still over the very low fire.

I watched it carefully for signs of curdling and nothing happened after 1/2 of a bottle.  At that point I felt the mixture was more wine than cream and that curdling wasn't going to occur.  I let it sit over the heat a while longer, to the point where bubbles were forming, and then I mixed in about 1/4 teaspoon each (maybe a little less) of the cinnamon and nutmeg.  At this point I turned off the heat under the saucepan.

Nope, it didn't curdle and didn't even thicken.  What happened?  What can I do to save it?

Nope.  Not curdled.

I decided to heat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  In the meantime I beat three eggs, tempered them by adding several spoonfuls of the hot cream mixture and stirring well in between each addition, then poured the egg mixture into the saucepan and stirred some more.

I then set up a water bath (bain marie) with two nesting casserole dishes and put very hot water into the outer dish.  The custard mixture went into the inner dish.

Just before the water was added.

The whole thing baked for 1 hour to set up the custard.  Then the inner pan went into the refrigerator for a few hours.

The Verdict

Well, the idea of the eggless, no-bake custard didn't work out so that was a failure.

The baked custard with eggs, however, turned out to be quite tasty!  The custard itself was very light and delicate.  There was a mixture of subtle flavors:  slightly spicy, somewhat acidic (it was the wine but it made us think of lemon).  The texture appeared grainy but I couldn't detect it by taste and feel.  It was creamy but not rich and just very lightly sweet.

One taste tester noted that it was an excellent dessert after a long and hot day.  It was cool, refreshing, "mellow", and light.

I served it topped with a few fresh blackberries and two small leaves of mint.  That all went well with the custard.

Pretty good for a failure!

I wondered why the recipe didn't work as specified.  A quick check of the 'net explained what probably happened:  Most people don't want their cream to curdle when adding alcohol (funny!) so the discussions recommended using heavy cream instead of something like half-and-half because the fat content stops the protein from curdling when it encounters the acid in the wine.  (See article here.)

Ah ha!  Now I think I should have used light cream or half-and-half so the wine can curdle it.  Perhaps I can try it again.

By the way, you can acquire copies of many of the AAS's cookbooks from their publisher's webpage.  Some are in print, some are digital downloads, including a copy of Directions for Cooking by Troops, in Camp and Hospital by Florence Nightingale, which I find intriguing.