Author Notes
I made this maple syrup sweetened rhubarb sauce recently and I've been using it in many different ways...it's great over yogurt or on breads when used like a jam, but it's particularly delicious with these simple baked vanilla custards, inspired by an herbal custard recipe in From the Cook's Garden by Ellen Ogden. Depending on the size of your custard cups, this recipe will serve 4-6 people. —WinnieAb
Ingredients
- Maple Rhubarb Sauce
-
3 cups
trimmed chopped rhubarb
-
1 cup
dried strawberries (the sugar-free ones packaged by the Just Tomatoes brand)
-
1 cup
pure maple syrup
-
juice of 1/2 lemon (I used Meyer lemon)
- Custard
-
2 cups
whole milk
-
1/2 cup
heavy cream
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
4
eggs
-
1/4
organic sugar
Directions
- Maple Rhubarb Sauce
-
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
-
Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to mash up the rhubarb and strawberries, until the fruit is very soft/mushy and the sauce has thickened.
-
Cool before using in this recipe, or anywhere else you would use a fruit sauce.
- Custard
-
Bring the milk, cream, and vanilla to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar.
-
Whisk the milk into the eggs/sugar.
-
Butter your custard cups.
-
Place a few spoonfuls of the rhubarb sauce into each cup and pour the custard equally into each one over the sauce.
-
Place filled custard cups into a pan and fill the pan with hot water that comes about 1/2 way up each cup.
-
Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean.
-
Remove from the water bath and allow to cool. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
-
To serve, run a knife around the edges to loosen each custard and then invert onto a serving dish.
I grew up in a restaurant family (my parents owned the now closed Quilted Giraffe in NYC) and I've always loved to cook.
My interest in the connection between food and health led me to pursue a graduate degree in naturopathic medicine. I don't practice medicine anymore; I have a blog called Healthy Green Kitchen that I started in May of 2009 and I wrote a book called One Simple Change that will be published in January, 2014.
I live in upstate New York with my family and many pets.
See what other Food52ers are saying.