“Baking a simple custard in an individual dish, whether it’s a glass or a ramekin or an old tea cup, presents endless options for serving. A sprinkle of sugar, caramelised; some poached fruit or jam; fresh berries and a splash of honey or balsamic vinegar; caramelised oranges; tea-poached prunes – it really can be whatever takes your fancy.”
Ingredients
Ginger granita
Baked vanilla cream
Method
Main
1.For ginger granita, combine sugar, ginger and 600ml water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar, then increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover and stand to infuse (20 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on ginger to remove as much liquid as possible (discard ginger), then add lemon juice, pour into a shallow tray, transfer to freezer and stir occasionally with a fork until frozen and ice crystals form (3-6 hours). Makes about 600ml.
2.Meanwhile, for baked vanilla cream, preheat oven to 160C. Combine cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and stir occasionally until hot (5 minutes). Remove from heat, cover and stand to infuse (1 hour). Whisk sugar and yolks in a bowl until pale and creamy (3-4 minutes). Reheat cream over medium heat until hot, then gradually pour onto yolk mixture, gently stirring to combine. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing to remove as many seeds as possible from the vanilla bean (discard vanilla bean). Stand for 5 minutes, then skim foam from surface. Divide evenly among six 250ml ovenproof glasses. Place glasses on a folded tea towel placed in a deep roasting pan, ensuring they are sitting level. Fill pan with enough hot water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of glasses and cover with foil. Pierce a few holes in foil with a skewer to release steam, then bake until set, but with a slight wobble (30-35 minutes). Remove from oven, remove foil and stand in water until cool (30-40 minutes). Remove from water, dry glasses and refrigerate until chilled and firm (2 hours).
3.Cut apples into 1cm dice, divide among custards, top with granita and serve immediately.
This recipe is from the September 2010 issue of .
Notes