Full question
Hello, I tried to cook Nigella’s Vanilla Custard recipe from Feast (I have the Hungarian translation). The result was a disaster. Nigella is one of my favorite cooks and until this time I found her recipes completely trustworthy but this one says to use cream, milk, vanilla, egg yolk and sugar which means - without cornstarch or flour - it was like boiled eggs. I have other recipes flour or cornstarch, was this missed out from the recipe? Thank you for your answer in advance.
Our answer
Nigella's Custard recipe (from FEAST) is meant to be a pouring custard to go with puddings and desserts, so it only contains egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. There is one egg yolk per 100mls of liquid and this is enough to thicken the custard without the addition of cornflour (cornstarch). As the custard is not intended to set it does not need an extra thickening agent. However, if the custard was to be used for a trifle or needed to be set, then we would add more egg yolks or some cornflour to the mixture.
If the custard has become lumpy it has probably been cooked over a heat that was too high. If the heat is taken too high then the proteins in the egg yolks harden and squeeze out any excess water, and this will lead to a lumpy custard. Keep the heat low and stir or whisk constantly, paying particular attention to the edges of the saucepan. If the mixture looks like it is starting to curdle then take the pan off the heat and whisk furiously. You can fill a sink with cold water before you start, to dip the base of the pan into as well as this will arrest the cooking quickly. If there are only a few small lumps then you can pass the custard though a fine meshed sieve and it will be fine to use.
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