Tuesday 10 March 2009

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy!



Today is Tuesday, and if you are a regular visitor to my blog, you must know what that means! All together now . . . Welcome to Tuesdays With Dorie! Yes, that wonderful baking group that bakes together in unison once a week, the same delicious recipe from that scrumdiddlyumptious baking book, Baking, from my home to yours, written by the equally as scrumdiddlyumptious baker, Ms Dorie Greenspan! (Whew, that was a mouthful . . . no pun intended!) By the way, Dorie's re-vamped her page. Make sure you check it out. It's lovely!



This week's recipe was Lemon Cup Custard on page 387 as chosen by Bridget of The Way The Cookie Crumbles. Great choice Bridget!! If there is one thing that my husband loves more than anything on earth, well exceptin for me that is . . . it's custard! He loves custard in any way shape or form. He loves runny custard, or creme anglaise poured over his pies and cakes. He loves baked custard all wiggly and cold and jiggling on his spoon. He adores custard tarts with their crisp shells and yummy custardy innards, all covered with nutmeg. He just plain loves custard full stop!



Actually this was a recipe I had made eons ago when I first got this book. Way before I even had heard of the Dorie Baking Group, and I suspect long before the group even got started. In fact it was the first recipe I ever cooked from this book right after I had first purchased it, so I already knew that it was a winner!



I wanted to do something different this time though, to stretch my culinary abilities and, as Dorie calls it . . . to play around! She had suggested lemon and cloves, orange and star anise, espresso and cinnamon and even vanilla . . . I wanted to take it one step further and after much thought, I decided on a distinctly Thai twist and so I combined the flavours of Lime, Red Chili and Coconut!



WOW!! This was fabulous! Very cosmopolitan, and distinctly delicious to say the least! I truly was amazed at how well it turned out.

To begin with I used 2% milk and added a 50g sachet of dried creamed coconut to make it a bit creamier. I also added the grated zest of two limes and a whole Kaffir Lime Leaf, broken into pieces. Then, to kick it up a notch, I added 1 whole dried chili pod. I heated these together to the boil and then let them sit for the full 30 minutes to infuse. Oh my, but it did smell good.




What more can I say about it. This was a really simple custard to make. You beat the eggs together with the sugar. Strain in a little of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs, and then whisk in the rest of the hot milk. Once you have it poured into the custard cups and have placed them in the water bath, the oven does the rest.



Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

Well, I think mine got a bit overdone though, but nevermind, they were still delicious! Quite deliciously so. I highly recommend this variation, especially if you want to impress some dinner guests with something that has a decidedly delicious flavour. You'll have them guessing as to what it is. This amount of lime zest was not overpowering, and the lime leaf added a delightful fragrance. There was just the slightest sweetness from the coconut and then a wonderfully intriguing heat, that was most pleasant. All in all a winner.



If you would like the recipe please pop by to Bridget's page to check it out, where she will be posting it at some point today. Please do also check out the Dorie Blog Roll to see what the other ladies did with this wonderful recipe.

Next week's recipe will be the French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze on pages 224-225, as chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction. I can't wait!!! I love, Love, LOVE Yogurt Cakes and I love, Love, LOVE Marmalade. This is going to be great!!



33 comments:

  1. Marie,

    Oh, this is super yummy and delicious sounding. I like how you mixed such distinct flavors together to make a simply luscious dessert.
    I really enjoy keeping guests guessing about secret ingredients. Hot spicy mixed with something you wouldn’t expect is lovely!

    Enjoy a perfect Tuesday
    Beth
    ♥♥♥

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  2. It looks so good. I love lemon and lime flavors. I think I would love this dish.

    I am off to bed. Austin tossed and turned from 9 to 9:45 when he said he was hungry and wanted to eat cereal. This is two nights in a row that he has had a 10:00 cereal snack. I hope that he is not starting a habit. I am afraid he will be tired and fussy again tomorrow because he wakes up early out of habit no matter what time he gets to sleep.

    I hope you have a nice day. Let me know if there is a time I can call.

    Much love, Lura

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  3. Oooh those tarts look lovely!
    I love lemony anything.

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  4. That looks good! Very simple and elegant!

    So, Miss Marie, I have a question. Would you like to be one of the featured creative women on my blog? :)

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  5. Custard was a favorite of my Mom and Dad. She was a very good pie maker and he loved custard pies. I'm not sure I could imagine all those different flavors in my custard. I use vanilla and that's about it. Now you have me wondering how it would taste.
    Have a wonderful day.
    'On Ya'-ma

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  6. I think this custard would be perfect with lime flavouring. Looks great!

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  7. Give me anything with lemon or lime...or Thai flavors! I love your Thai twist on this, Marie--very elegant and delicious. I can almost taste it! ...mmm... Hope very much we get to chat tonight! :o) Happy Day, sweet friend. LOVE YOU ((HUGS))

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  8. Wow, this sounds like a very interesting combination of flavours: Lime, Red Chili and Coconut!

    Glad you liked it!!

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  9. So glad you loved it! I played around a bit and loved it too!!! I LOVE your Thai take on the recipe... that is SO chic!!!!

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  10. Oh, Marie - this looks JUST the thing for a day like today! Yummy as ever!
    Stay warm today.
    Amanda xxx

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  11. I love how you amped up the flavor.

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  12. Wow! You made this look really good. Maybe if I had read your post first I would have tried it. :)

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  13. Love your lemon dessert look absolutely tempting dear Marie, beauty pìcs.. Gloria xxxx

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  14. Wow those custards are so cool - very inventive! I would love to try those, they look perfect too :)

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  15. Wow!! Your collection of flavors is outstanding. I think only you would have tried them together. I also love custard so really enjoyed this TWD, even tho several others didn't. Very pretty.

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  16. Baked custard is one of my favourites Marie.It was my Fathers too.I cannot imagine what yours tastes like,but I'd like to give it a try it looks delicious.Have a lovely evening,sorry I am late commenting today.Take Care God Bless Kath xx

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  17. I'm salivating over your flavor combo. It sounds very delicious. Your custards look wonderful too.

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  18. Oh my, this sounds like the perfect interpretation of this recipe! I can't wait to try it!

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  19. Marie, I live in Ontario, Canada and came upon your blog a few months ago. Oh, how I LOVE it. You are a wonderful woman and so talented too. What a generous and large heart you have. SO rare to find today. And you are such an amazing cook too. That lucky Todd.

    Your friend, Anna.
    annaverghesekuruvilla@hotmail.com

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  20. Beautifully done Marie! Sounds like a fantastic flavor combination.

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  21. The custard looks lovely Marie, I so love it too! The smooth creaminess on the tongue is heavenly! I had a very exhausting work week Marie, the older I get the harder it is to bounce back from a week like that, I apologize for not being here till now.

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  22. Hi Marie! I just love to peruse your blog. It makes me so hungry though! My mouth simply waters, and everything looks so wonderful. Oozing with delicious-ness! it made me think about your recipe book. How it is coming along. Is it on amazon yet? I cant remember the title! I was looking back thrugh your blog, but couldnt find where you had written about it before. It is so impressive to be published! You are quite amazing with all your industry! I am honored to know you, really! I was just checking flights to Scotland and noticed that there were stops in Manchester. Wouldnt I love to stop there for an hour or two and drop by for a goodie! In my dreams so far, but maybe someday! Blessings! Carolyn

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  23. Oh Marie that looks so good - I wish I lived next door to you. But I'd be way larger than I am now if I did! blessings, marlene

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  24. you are making my mouth water-stop it! :)

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  25. Wow! That is a super creative variation. I'm so uncreative that I couldn't think of anything different to do. Not that there's anything wrong with lemon, of course!

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  26. Wow, how creative! Your custard looks great.

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  27. You are so creative. What a great Thai custard - sounds fantastic!

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  28. I think I may try this one the next time my FIL comes to stay with us - I bet he would love it with his evening coffee!! (I do love to spoil him with little homemade baked goodies. He appreciates them so...)

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  29. Marie,

    I came across your blog only weeks ago and I'm loving it! It brightens the day. I so enjoy reading what you have been up to, your appreciation and joy for life - its contagious! Yipee....
    Warmest hugs from across the globe.
    Dianne.

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  30. oh this has my mouth watering!
    I love lemon and the spices sound so exotic.

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  31. Those look soo good! I really like lemon desserts.

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