4 egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar Pinch salt ;

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch salt ;

2 cups scalded milk infused with; 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Beat yolks slightly and add sugar and salt. Remove vanilla bean from milk and stir a little of hot milk into the yolks to warm them. Return egg mixture to pan of hot milk. Cook, stirring constantly over very low heat until custard coats back of spoon. A test for readiness is to draw a line through the custard on the back of the spoon with your finger. If the custard remains on each side of the line, the custard is thick enough. Remove custard from burner when testing to avoid boiling it. Do not let the pan rest on burner a moment longer than necessary, and stir it off heat to cool it down. Some ‘ heavy-bottom pans can hold enough heat to curdle custard as it stands. Add vanilla extract now; if added at the beginning it would become bitter. Strain and cool custard before using. It will thicken as it cools.

Baked custard

4 whole eggs

6 egg yolks

8 T. sugar

Pinch salt

3 cups hot milk, infused with 1, vanilla bean or 1 tsp. pure vanilla ex-f tract )

Break eggs into bowl, add sugar, and salt, and whisk until just com-, bined. Slowly and gently stir in hot milk and vanilla. Pour into buttered, custard cups, souffle dish or glass casserole, and bake in a hot water bath at 325 for aobut 1 1/2 hours.

Pastry cream

This is adaptable for filling cocoh nut or banana cream pies or with cakes and fruit desserts. (

3 egg yolks , {

1/3 cup sugar

Pinch salt

2 1/2 T. cornstarch ,

1 T. butter

2 cups scalded milk, infused with 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg yolks until light, then beat in sugar, salt, cornstarch anjd butter. Add a little hot milk to coni,pletely slake cornstarch and then carefully stir them back into pan <)f

hot milk. Cook over low hea|> stirring constantly until it thickeris and coats back of a spoon. Add vanilla and coconut or banana. •

Caramel custard