It is no secret that in my family, we are passionate about custard, especially my dad. My parents live about an hour away from Amish country and they make a custard pie that has my dad, who is a total healthy eater, throwing away his strict discipline regarding treats. My sister has also been known, while driving the long drive to visit my parents, to go out of her way to stop there and pick up several pies. Between her and my dad, the pies quickly disappear. And there might or might not be some good hearted accusations about where all the pie went when they are gone.
This is actually one of the very first recipes I ever attempted to make. You might think that is weird but realize that I did not even make anything by myself until I was well into adulthood. I would even cajole my college roommates into making boxed dinners for me. I was pathetic. But when I was ready to make my first real dessert, this was a natural thing for me to gravitate toward. As is my mantra for this blog, it is delicious and easy!
A quick note: the original recipe calls for grated lemon peel and I didn't have any when I first made it and so I just used a few splashes of lemon juice instead. Later on, I tried the lemon peel and found it to be way too lemony. If you want a more vanilla type custard, just add the lemon juice, if you want it to be lemon custard, use the lemon peel.
Custard
slightly adapted from Taste of Homes
1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 c half and half
a few squirts of lemon juice (or 1 tsp grated lemon peel)
3 eggs yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually add cream and lemon juice until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to pan; bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, stir in butter and vanilla.
Pour into parfait glasses (or whatever glass you have will work, it tastes the same no matter what you put it in). Cool. I always add fresh berries and whipped cream to make it extra special.
