Baked Egg Custard
I can’t count the times I’ve made this easy homemade Baked Egg Custard. It’s one of my favorite easy desserts when I want something that’s not overly sweet. This custard is great served cold, warm, or at room temperature.
Sometimes after a long day, I just want a simple dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth craving. Nothing too rich, sweet, or heavy, just easy, delicious, and satisfying. That’s when I turn to baked egg custard.
Egg custard is one of those simple desserts from the old days that our grandmothers made. Back in the day when expensive chocolate and nuts weren’t an everyday staple in most kitchen pantries, most people always seemed to have an ample supply of eggs, milk, and cream.
Trust me, it doesn’t get any easier than this recipe for baked egg custard…
How to make Baked Egg Custard
There are 4 simple steps to making this baked egg custard…
- Whisk together eggs, sugar, salt & vanilla
- Whisk in some warm milk and half & half
- Pour into ramekins and sprinkle with nutmeg
- Bake in a water bath
WHY USE A WATER BATH?
The steam from a water bath gives custards and cheesecakes a moist, satiny smooth texture and prevents them from cracking on top. I always use a water bath when I bake any type of custards or cheesecakes.
WHY DO I NEED TO REMOVE THAT LITTLE WHITE THING FROM THE EGG YOLKS?
That little white thing is called the Chalaza and anytime you’re baking something that has a smooth and silky texture such as custard, you want the texture to be just that…silky and smooth. The chalaza is very pronounced in such recipes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t especially want little pieces of white stuff in my custard.
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Baked Egg Custard
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 5 large servings 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baked
Description
This egg custard is so smooth and silky and sprinkled with a touch of nutmeg. It’s the perfect dessert when you want something that’s not too sweet or heavy.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup half & half
- Ground nutmeg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a small spoon, remove the little white thing, Chalaza from the egg yolks. Add the eggs to a large bowl. Whisk them for a few seconds, then add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Set aside while you warm the milk and half & half. Add the warm milk and half & half to the egg/sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture through a strainer and divide between 5 large or 6 small ramekins. Sprinkle nutmeg over the tops. Place the ramekins in a large baking pan. Carefully pour hot water in the pan, being careful to not spill water into the ramekins. Pour the water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The custards will still be slightly jiggly in the centers. Transfer custards to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
- Serve custard at room temperature or chilled.
- If you’re not serving the custards right away, cover the custards with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve chilled or allow to set for 20 minutes before serving.
- Custards will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days but start to separate and become watery after that.
Can I use this technique to make the sous vi egg bites that everyone is trying to copy from Starbucks? I tried several recipes, and the ingredients are all similar but they put a steaming dish of water on rack underneath instead of putting them in it. The texture is wrong with that way of doing it. Also, would there be any issue to adding bacon and gruyere to your recipe? Can I omit cottage cheese or have they added that for texture? Thank you very much.
Hi Stephanie,
This recipe doesn’t contain cottage cheese and I’m not sure what the Starbucks recipe is. Also, this recipe is baked in a water bath. I haven’t tried adding other ingredients to this recipe, therefore I’m not sure what the result would be.
Sounds like you are using this egg/ milk ratio as a base for a quiche-type dish. That works well but I wouldn’t leave this much sugar in the recipe for a quiche dish.
You can use this recipe as-is for a base for bread pudding and rice pudding.
This recipe takes me back to my childhood. I have made this excellent recipe for guests and received many compliments. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the tips for success. Even though I have made baked custard since my early childhood, and my father and brothers were all bakers, I love to try recipes from other great cooks and bakers.
Hi Barbara, You are so welcome! I know what you mean. My mother made this often when I was a child. Thanks so much for the nice comments.
Cindy
What is half and half?
Hi Sandy,
Half & Half is half cream and half milk. Many of us use it in our coffee. It’s in the dairy section next to milk and whipping cream.
How warn should the milk be?
Hi Myna, Just a little warmer than room temp…not hot.
I would like my custard to be a little thicker. Can I use evaporated milk from the can without diluting it?
My mom taught me this little trick. She would make cinnamon toast under the broiler (white bread, butter, sugar and cinnamon). Then cut into squares. She would float a square if cinnamon toast on top of the custard before baking. Be still my heart…amazingly good.
Hi Alison, What a great idea. That sounds so good. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Cindy,
Just reading your recipe for baked egg custard and wondering what half and half is.
Hi James, It’s with the coffee creamers at the grocery store. It’s half milk and half cream.
I’m from Pennsylvania dutch country and favorite from there is soak dried fruits( apricots,cherries,plums,pears) then drain thoroughly. Place on bottom of baking dishes & continue w/regular recipe. When eating u get surprise on bottom. Very tasty
Excellent, sweet but not too sweet comfort food dessert that is sooo easy to make! Yummy
I made this egg custard today. Followed the recipe with water bath, etc. Temp of the milk was a bit higher than slightly above room temp. Excellent flavor, best after refrigeration. My ramekins had some water in the bottom; how do I make this without the liquid in the bottom of the ramekin?
Hi Roberta, It usually means the custard is overcooked or overbaked. You can check it with a thermometer if you’re not sure. It shouldn’t go over 190 in the oven. The custard should still be jiggly in the middle too. I hope this helps.
May sound like dumb question but want to make sure about temps. Recipe says preheat oven to 350 but one of your responses. If to comments mentions it shouldn’t go over 190 in the oven to prevent watery custard from over baking. Did you mean 190 degrees for internal temp of the custard itself?
Also do you use just the egg yolks or the whole eggs?
Sorry- I’m just learning !!!!!!
Hi Martha, You will use the whole eggs, but you can remove the little white thing (chalaza) that’s attached to the egg yolk if you prefer. Bake them at 350 degrees the entire time. The custard should still be jiggly in the center. If you’re not sure if it’s done, check it with a thermometer. It should read 190 degrees.
Your recipe says 400 for 20 minutes and then 350 for the rest. Here you say 350 the whole time, which is it?
Hi Karyla, I’m sorry I don’t see where the 400 degrees is mentioned. It should be 350 degrees the entire baking time. Please advise me as to where you saw this so I can correct it. Thank You!
I add egg for firmness and use heavy cream not 1/2and half,also cinnamon not nutmeg. Fially I pour through a wire mesh to make sure it’s uniform and smooth, it’s awesome
I LOVE egg custard and this recipe is the best! It’s easy and smooth. I always put nutmeg on top before baking because I love that added flavor I will be using this recipe very often.
can i use whole milk instead of 2%
Hi Marie, Yes, you sure can.
This is the best custard I have ever made. I do have a question. Can I substitute sugar with an artificial sweetener?
Hi Denise, I have not tried substituting artificial sweetener, but I don’t see why not.