Egg custard pudding was my most favorite treat growing up. I usually made a couple of bowls a week at my Grandparent’s house (they lived not far down the road) and my Grandfather, also a huge egg custard fan, and I would happily wolf it down together while watching baseball on his rabbit-eared black and white TV.
Egg custard was basically the only thing I could cook in my teenage years and it didn’t really get much better until I had kids!
The reason I determined to learn how to make this one dish at such an early age was my nearly constant craving for eggs growing up. I have no idea why I craved eggs so much - I don’t crave them at all anymore probably because I get so many good fats elsewhere in my diet. I especially craved eggs during my early teenage years, likely because the wholesome fats in the yolk provided such excellent nourishment at such a fast growing and hormonally charged time of life.
Egg custard is easy to make and very nourishing. In my opinion, it is a great first dish to teach your children (along with scrambled eggs). When you skip the white sugar that is included in most versions and substitute Grade B maple syrup instead, the flavor even resembles flan!
If your children are tween age and up and still haven’t shown much interest in cooking, haul them into the kitchen and show them how to whip up a bowl of egg custard. You just might spawn another egg custard junkie!
Egg Custard Pudding
Ingredients
6 free range or pastured eggs
3 cups grassfed milk (goat milk works well too. You may also substitute whole coconut milk if desired)
1/2 cup Grade B maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
Organic ground nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
Crack eggs into a medium sized glass bowl and whip. Add salt and vanilla and mix well. Blend in maple syrup and milk with a whisk.
Bake in the same bowl at 400F for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly on top and a knife inserted at the center of the bowl comes out clean. Delicious served warm or cold with a bit if nutmeg sprinkled on top!
*For a version of this recipe using coconut milk, click here for Thai Custard Pudding.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks yummy. Can I use honey instead of maple syrup.
Absolutely!
How perfect! I just got 3 dozen pastured eggs at the farmers’ market, so guess what I’ll be doing today. I’ve made custard using honey, but I love the idea of using grade B maple syrup for a flan-like flair. I’m a huge flan fan. I suppose you could do it in individual glass bowls in a tray of water as well, but your one-dish version sounds nice, too. Other than ease and simplicity, is there an advantage to doing it in one bowl?
It’s just simpler in one bowl. No reason not to split it up if you want to though.
I thought you “had” to bake custard in a pan of water, which I always considered a hassle so I’m glad to know that this step isn’t necessary!
Definitely don’t need a pan of water.
Sarah, Thanks I will try it! I had a dinner party where I served Sally’s baked chicken,oven roasted carrots and green beans. Dessert was fresh strawberries, fixed ahead with meyer lemon juice to preserve, and I forgot to add a little honey! I had sugar on the table for coffee and one of the guests put it in his strawberries and my homemade creme freshe! I thought it was delicious alone but we are used to the real taste of foods without suger! They are not!
Jean Finch
Traditional Egg Custard Pudding — The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/D8XQuA3
Timely recipe! Our hens have finally started giving us dozens of eggs each week, and quite frankly we’re all a little tired of typical breakfast eggs. This looks like a delicious way to change things up and still make good use of those nutritious eggs!
I have a hard time eating eggs so I am excited to try this recipe. I just found a local source for pastured eggs so I can actually afford to use six eggs at once! Can you use maybe half milk, half coconut milk?
I’ve never tried that but I feel pretty sure it would work.
Baked egg custard was one of my favorite breakfast treats growing up. So silky and rich, yum! The only thing I didn’t like was when mom put rice in the bottom. I’m a custard purist I guess. My hubby is not much of an egg fan but I definitely need to introduce the kids to custards.
Love your posts!! We just moved and are busily un-boxing our belongings -ugh- thing is, yesterday I found my mother’s custard bowls, stored them in the cabinet and told myself I would look online for an old fashioned recipe-that was yesterday!! Perfect timing-thank You:)
Traditional Egg Custard Pudding — The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/0E5pMhl
i’m wondering if this will keep for long once cooked? i’m not cooking for a family and not sure if my partner would eat it.
Wow, I SO can handle this! Does the top get crunchy at all like creme brulee? I might just whip out my man’s welding torch and try for it. lol!
I just picked up 5 dozen pastured eggs so the timing for this recipe could not have been better. The custard is in the oven as I type. Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
I have a vintage Westing House oven on my back porch for summer..wanted to do something..mine is in the oven too!
I’ve got a new woodburning kitchen stove with an oven and I can’t wait to try this once it’s cool enough to use the stove!
Where do you get the grade B maple syrup?
Many healthfood stores have it but it is expensive. Try to get it from a local buying club and you will save a lot.
You can also buy it on Amazon.com for “cheap” especially if you do the subscribe & save option; it’ll knock 15% off the price and you can have it shipped to you on a regular basis!
I made your egg custard pudding using coconut milk a while back. Delish and sooo easy!
Much more simple than the recipe I have ! can’t wait to try it! I get my two gallons of freah milk to tomorrow:) with my fresh 2 doz eggs!!!
I just made this — can’t wait to try it!! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Well, don’t know what went wrong..it turned out like sweet scrambled eggs with a bunch of extra liquid..my kids were not impressed,,
Same here. =( Minus the kids.
Here, too. I should’ve looked around; most custards set better (don’t separate) when baked in a water bath AND at a lower temp (325/350). My gut said go with a lower temp, but I tried it as is. Many suggestions if you google it are to avoid the separation with lower temps. Will probably try again with slightly souring raw milk, at low temp. Cheers!
Here’s the version I posted awhile back using coconut milk instead of milk: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/06/thai-custard-pudding/
Mine just came out of the oven and is beautiful. I used homemade coconut milk but my husband just gave it a thumbs up!
Thanks Sarah, I’m going to try this right now in fact! Great idea!
I LOVE egg custard but have never learned how to make it myself. Thanks for sharing this. The very first thing I taught my grandchildren to cook is making their own scrambled eggs from our own fresh eggs when they come to stay with us once a week. When they are small it can get pretty messy…one is a two year old now…but they can all crack and prepare (at least help) their own eggs. I love that I can fill them with this super charged food once a week, as well as our home made applesauce, raw milk products, and garden goods. This custard will go on our list of things to make together.
That’s interesting that you say how you craved eggs as a teenager – I did too. I would boil eggs for myself after school on a regular basis as a snack. My parents ate (and still eat) very unhealthy and mostly over processed foods, with a few fruits/veggies thrown in. Probably I craved the eggs because I wasn’t getting good food /fats like you said, in my diet. Strangely enough I also craved kidney beans and I would cook them in a frying pan, then cover them with parmesan cheese. Weird!
This sounds so simple, and so delicious….
As the commenter above, I would have supposed it a more complicated process involving a pan of water.
This is also a rare treat for me, as I have trouble tolerating animal protein and starch in the same meal, and most yummy desserts have plenty of both! (cake = flour + milk and eggs, etc.)
Ahh man! I used to love that stuff! I can’t wait till we can have eggs again!
do you pre-eat the oven?
and do you cover it while cooking?
here it also looks like sweet scrambled eggs…
Baked custard is one of my biggest craves…When I make it I use 3 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs, a cup of milk and a cup of cream and lots of nutmeg. I have also, over time, cut down on the amount of maple syrup so the sweetness is very delicate. I think I need to go make some right now!
Great recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I used to know nothing about custard. Than I married an English man and they love their custard in the UK.
I made this last night. Very easy and very tasty. Thank you.
I made this on Tuesday night. Everyone loved it. It was a big hit. Thanks.
I craved eggs & egg sandwiches as a high school runner too! I’m making this now — mostly because it sort of sounds like crème brûlée (which I love!) and I have plenty of extra milk & eggs. Can’t wait to try it!
And it was really good! Mine was a little liquidy as well, but I just scooped out the solid parts. I’ve had this 3 days in a row for breakfast — what a GREAT option to have!
I had to wait until our eggs were delivered. We are having a super cool summer and chickens are not liking it! The liquid in my custard separated. What did I do wrong? Any instruction would be most welcome!!
have you ever tried almond breeze as a substitute? We don’t use milk and don’t like coconut milk. Hoping there is yet another version, I so miss egg custard!
Almond “milk” is a highly processed, fake food. See this link for good info from Dr. Kaayla Daniel:
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/08/soy-protein-shakes-almond-milk-and-other-fake-foods-people-think-are-good-for-them-dr-kaayla-daniel.html
Why don’t you use real milk? If you have allergies, they can be reversed with the GAPS diet. And my goodness, who wouldn’t love coconut milk?!
I’m making this for the 4th time this morning! Love it … I like it both warm & cold as well. Great treat…great way to utilize my milk & eggs and I’m loving a new way to eat eggs
Can kefir be subbed for milk? We can only do fermented dairy on gaps.
Hi Sarah. I decided to make this as a frozen custard. When i add the grade B maple syrup, it makes the whole thing brownish/tan and it tastes like dulce de leche or butterscotchy. Not bad, but my children won’t like the flavor. Already taste=tested on my DH. Any suggestions?
My grade B maple is very sulphery–like Molasses.
Thanks,
Yum! I have been drinking avocado milkshakes (milk and avocado blended) and raw milk tonic (Nourishing Traditions) lately. So I halved your recipe above, added an avocado and blended it. It is delicious! My new favorite.
Why did mine turn out like sweet scrambled eggs? Maybe in for too long as there were burned pieces on the top?
I made this dish and followed the instructions but it has turned out very watery! It still tastes good and my husband has already eaten half of it. Is the consistency supposed to be more “pudding-ish”? Any ideas for what I am doing incorrectly??
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Also, I’d love to try the Thai Custard recipe but the link is broken and I didn’t find a category called desserts so don’t know where to find it otherwise. I did get a good chuckle when I got the “You 404′d it. Gnarly. Dude.” error message. I had heard about these changes on TEDtalks but hadn’t seen one yet.
Just made it for the first time, and it is delicious! I used Rapunzel Organic Whole Cane Sugar instead of the Maple Syrup (it is what I have. Definitely making it again with Maple Syrup!) My custard turned out so beautiful that I took a picture! The top has a gorgeous, yummy crust from the froth that sat on top when I poured the whipped mixture into my baking dish. The custard itself has a lovely, silky, smooth texture for about two inches, and then a very slightly more “egg-ish” layer on the bottom, maybe from overcooking? As it has cooled, a caramel-y liquid has separated from the custard, which I have spooned out into a pan as it has pooled. It hasn’t changed the custard, so I suppose it is ok. I am going to try to reduce the liquid and make it into a sauce and pour it back over the custard. I am definitely recommending this recipe! With a warning about over-cooking. . .
I think I’m going to do half coconut milk and half raw cow milk (with the cream) and see how that comes out…thanks for the recipe!
I made this, following the directions exactly, except I substituted honey. The finished product was not smooth or creamy; it resembled very wet scrambled eggs with liquid sitting in the bottom of the dish. I don’t know what I did wrong…help!
I made this custard this evening. I didn’t have enough maple syrup, so I just used a 1/2 cup of organic sugar. I also used fresh duck eggs instead of chicken eggs and used the cows milk, not coconut milk. It turned out wonderfully. My children LOVED it!
I also went ahead and cooked it in a water bath…
no one has insight into the sweet scrambled eggs problem?
I just posted this above, but thought I’d copy here in case you have the “notify” on:
I should’ve looked around; most custards set better (don’t separate) when baked in a water bath AND at a lower temp (325/350). My gut said go with a lower temp, but I tried it as is. Many suggestions if you google it are to avoid the separation with lower temps. Will probably try again with slightly souring raw milk, at low temp. Cheers!
I’m pretty sure the scrambled egg results are from overcooking.The type of bowl or glass dish you cook in can affect how high the heat needs to be.I remember when i first made custard I had this problem.Cooking the milk and tempering the eggs before hand also seems to help.I’m about to make some custard…will probably cook it at around 300 degrees.Will let you know how it goes.
without wanting to be “attacked” for consuming almond milk…
Could this be substituted in for the milk? I do not currently have coconut milk, nor can I afford raw milk.
thanks!
I’ve done it, and I think it tastes great with almond milk.
This is the best and easiest custard I’ve ever made. I made it for hubby who is sick, but he doesn’t like custard consistency…which works well for me because now it’s all mine! I can’t wait to fix this for my grandsons.
I had a little bit of what was definitely cooked egg on the top and it was a bit liquidy. I think that mixing the egg and milk better…more of a ‘whipping’ as the recipe instructs than I did this time…will fix that problem. I don’t mind the liquid as it is sooo good.
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