No-bake Vanilla Bean Lemon Custard
I have been pushing this recipe for a while. In fact, if you look at the videos for this recipe on my Instagram, you can see me wearing a sweater— clearly not sweater weather anymore. While April has had a fair share of cooking, I can imagine May being a lot busier. Luckily, there are a bunch of recipes in the pipeline that are both easy to make and look absolutely fab. Now, while I could write a nice story to tie this recipe back to a moment vulnerability in my life, I did promise to begin every month with highs and lows. So, let’s begin with the highs!
Highs
Work has been hectic. Again, vastly thankful for the fact that I have a job that is fulfilling in a company that is still alive in the current situation. I don’t what I would have done if I didn’t have something to do all day.
As I write this, the quarantine extends till May 17. Which means more isolation for two more weeks. The silver lining is that given where Natasha and I live, we could perhaps meet soon. Honestly, the best part of this month already!
The little amount of cooking that I have been doing has been so much fun. I keep forgetting how therapeutic it can be. Natasha convinced me to make some of Chris Morocco’s Chile Crisp Oil, some greek yoghurt eggs, and General Tso’s Chicken. Should be on the blog this month!
Lows
I feel like a sack of potatoes! My workout frequency has gone way down and as much as I would love to blame my overwhelming work, I do think its a function of lack of movement and my natural instinct to stay in my room. A lot of my “only child” symptoms are coming back in. I can survive staying in my room for the entire day and survive on a couple of hours of the day in socialising. I was reminded of my time studying for my 12th-grade boards. While I can fill the time, and do so highly productively, I would much rather be out, workout, and resume a normal status quo.
For the most part, the month has had times that longer than others but there are days that I feel as though I should be using my time better— planning for the future, thinking of next steps. And then again, I feel maybe floating a little more might just be a greater direction. For the most part, my floating rarely means being useless and watching TV. It still means working 10 hours a day, cooking, shooting, writing a blog while maintaining a semblance of a full life.
If you have been working like me, or you’re one of the many people that are cooking for the first time, this dessert promises to be home run. The custard is no-bake and steeps in two flavours— lemon and vanilla. I love using vanilla bean paste (use essence if you dont have it) because of how the black seeds are resplendent across the cream white canvas. Both lemon and vanilla are aromatic, which means that most of the “tasting” is through olfactory senses than the tongue. It also means that you can easily switch flavours around— coffee, lime, lavender. The options are endless. So I hope you try this, its way too easy not to give it a shot!
Glimpses from the week
Recipe
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings of 150 ml custard
For the Custard
2 cups heavy cream
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 to 2 lemons)
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
For the topping (Macerated strawberries)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving (optional)
Method
In a medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar, lemon zest and salt over medium-high heat. Bring to simmer, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar. Simmer vigorously until mixture thickens slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes. Once thick, add vanilla bean paste and mix well.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let sit until mixture has cooled slightly and a skin forms on top, about 20 minutes.
Stir mixture, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup with a spout; discard the zest. Pour mixture evenly into six 6-ounce ramekins or small bowls.
Refrigerate, uncovered, until set, at least 3 hours.
As the custards chill, prepare the strawberry topping: Toss strawberries and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Let fruit macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the sugar is dissolved.
To serve, top each lemon custard with some strawberry topping and grind black pepper on top.
