Best Cooked Custard Eggnog Recipes

COOKED CUSTARD EGGNOG

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath. In a medium saucepan, scald 2 cups milk. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer on medium-high, whisk 5 large egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add half the scalded milk to the yolk mixture, and whisk until blended. Stir into remaining milk, and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove from heat, and immediately stir in 1 cup heavy cream. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a medium mixing bowl set in the ice-water bath. Let stand, stirring from time to time, until chilled. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 cup dark rum. Transfer eggnog to a punch bowl or to individual glasses.
• Whip 1 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Top each serving of eggnog with a dollop of whipped cream, and sprinkle with grated nutmeg.

COOKED CUSTARD EGGNOG

Steps:

• Heat milk in a large saucepan, don't boil.
• Beat eggs and salt in a large bowl; gradually add sugar, mixing well.
• Gradually stir about 1/4 of hot milk into egg mixture; add to remaining hot milk, stirring constantly.
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until misture thickens and reaches 160 degrees.
• Stir in 1/4 tsp nutmeg and vanilla.
• Set saucepan in larger pan of ice for 10 minutes to rapidly cool mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours.
• When ready to serve, fold in whipping cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.

NO STIR COOKED EGGNOG, CUSTARD OR PUDDING - CHOCOLATE, VANILLA,

Steps:

• In a 1.5 quart or larger glass casserole dish, add all ingredients and mix together - it doesn't have to be perfect, though.
• Place dish in a larger pan and fill with hot water to the level of the custard or as close as you can get (no higher than 1/2 inch from the top of the pan). Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (it will be wet, but there should be no liquidy custard sticking to it).
• Remove from oven and water bath and allow to cool for just a minute or two. Spoon/dump the hot custard into a blender or food processor, being VERY CAREFUL not to burn yourself. Put on the lid and blend/process until mixture is completely pureed and smooth. It will be runny. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours until custard is cold and thickened.
• VARIATION - CHOCOLATE PUDDING: While pureeing custard, add chocolate syrup to the mixture to taste. You can use dark chocolate or milk chocolate syrup. I don't have an exact quantity - just eyeball it until it looks and tastes good!
• VARIATION - OTHER FLAVORS: Add in other stuff to the custard while mixing in the blender. Some ideas - butterscotch, caramel or fruit syrup, or use flavored extracts from the baking aisle. Make sure whatever you add isn't too runny or juicy, because this will prevent the pudding from setting up properly. You can also stir in fresh fruit after the pudding is set. One of my favorite combos is to drain a can of cinnamon fried apples, dice them, and then mix them in the pudding. Serve with some caramel sauce drizzled on top - yummy!
• VARIATION - EGGNOG: After custard cools and sets up in the refrigerator, spoon into a pitcher. Stir in any combination of milk, half-and-half, cream, etc. until it's the consistency you want. Add nutmeg to taste, and rum or brandy if you like. You may have to sample it a couple of times to get it just right - but I consider that a plus! But you may want to write down the quantities you used so you can make it the same way next time.
• VARIATION - CUSTARD SAUCE: Mix in cream or half-and-half to the consistency you'd like, plus any flavorings you want.