Rumour has it this is a North of England pudding - and possibly from the "red rose" side of the Pennines (or Lancashire). Suffice it to say that the homemade version is much tastier than the mass produced version available in shops and supermarkets.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
2 large eggs (or 3 medium), 1 pt(500ml) of milk, 1 tablespoonful of sugar (preferably caster sugar), pinch of salt, flavouring to taste, and nutmeg.
Equipment
Mixing bowl, oven-proof pie-dish, saucepan big enough to heat milk, hand balloon-whisk, or electric mixer
Method
In the mixing bowl beat the eggs, salt, and sugar so they are well mixed. (Use either a hand balloon-whisk or an electric mixer on slow to medium speed to beat the ingredients.) Heat the milk in a saucepan, and pour onto the eggs when hot (not boiling.) Pour into the greased pie-dish . Sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top of the mixture. Either place the pie-dish in a baking tin which contains enough hot water to cover half the sides of the pie dish - in this case bake the custard in a moderate oven - (350dF, 180dC, Gas mark 3) for approximately 45 minutes. (See below for hints on how to tell if the custard is set) - Or bake the custard solely in the pie-dish at a lower temperature for around 1 hour - in this case your oven setting will be 250dF, 120dC, Gas mark 1/4. (If you are not confident of the accuracy of your oven settings, or wish to use the oven for something else as well as the egg custard, it is as well to use the higher temperature and the baking tin containing hot water.)
Bake until set - or when the blade of a knife inserted into the custard half-way between the centre and the side comes out clean with no custard sticking to it. The custard may not be quite done in the middle but there will be enough heat in it to finish the cooking, and it is better removed from the oven at this stage than allowed to over-cook and curdle.
Comment
A very different animal from the pastry based egg and nutmeg tart offered by the shops and supermarkets. If there should be any left-overs keep them in the fridge until the next serving.
Page Created: 6th January 2001