Lemon Custard With Blueberries
It’s the sweetest time of the summer: fresh blueberry season. Armed with 10 pounds of fresh blueberries, I set out to make a dessert, but wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to make. I asked the social medias for input. Custard won out. If I’m honest, I’ve never made custard before. But I just got a couple previously loved copies of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking volumes 1 and 2. Sure enough, she had several custard recipes! After trying a few, I landed on one with some tweaks.
I knew I wanted a custard that could stand on it’s own. Not a filling of some sort, but a whole dang dessert. I Something berries could suspend in while not being too dense. Something that had just a few simple, real ingredients. I landed om her “creme saint-honore” or custard filling with beaten egg whites.
After simplifying some things like equal egg yolks to whites and cutting the flour (and subbing for gluten free of course) and adding my own lemon flavoring, this was perfect. Thick yet fluffy. Sweet with just the right amount of lemon tang. Then adding the blueberries took it to the next level. It’s good cold or warm! With fruit of on it’s own!
Don’t be intimidated by the process. I was, but it’s really quite stright forward. If you don’t quite understand ribboning the egg yolks, google it, but I’ll add a picture to help. It’ll be lumpy, when you put it back on the stove, but just keep whisking. It’ll be okay! You got this!
Lemon Custard With BlueBerries
Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar, divided
6 egg yolks, separated
1/2 cup flour (gluten free 1:1 works well)
2 cups boiling whole milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 lemons, zested and juiced
big pinch of salt
2 plus cups blueberries
Instructions:
While your milk is heating to a boil in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, separate the eggs from yolks and whites. Save the whites for later. Beat 1 cup of sugar and egg yolks together with a hand mixer until the mixture is pale yellow and ribbons, about 2-3 minutes of beating.
Ribboned egg yolks and sugar
Blend in the flour to the yolk mixture.
When the milk is boiling, slowly drip in the milk to the yolk mixture while beating the mixture. Slowly stream it all in while you blend it.
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Heat over mid-high heat. Stir with a wire whisk. As it comes to a boil, it’ll get lumpy. Just keep whisking. Whisk over heat until it is smooth.
Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until melted. Add the lemon juice and zest. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
Take the egg whites and salt in a medium bowl and beat until you get to soft peaks. When you achieve soft peaks, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the egg whites. Beat again until you get stiff peaks.
Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the custard. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Transfer to a bowl with a lid and store in the fridge.
Before serving, stir in most of the blueberries, reserving a few to top the custard with. When you dish it out, top with remaining blueberries. Enjoy!
