Simple Pleasures

My culinary highlight of the week so far was actually pretty sad:

I found Bird's Custard Powder in the supermarket on campus.

Now, perhaps if you have never experienced proper yellow custard before, this seems pretty mundane, but to me, it is just what I need to stave off homesickness and winter blues. So, in celebration, I am going to give you the recipe for one of the greatest culinary accomplishments of my family: My Granny's custard. That's right, it's made with custard powder, but I'm telling you, you have not tasted custard until you have tried this!

Granny's Custard Recipe

(makes 6 servings)

take the basic recipe for custard:

3 tbsp custard powder

3 tbsp sugar

but instead of plain milk, use a small tin of evaporated milk, then top it up to 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) with milk, making sure to combine the two milks well.

mix the custard powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt (very important) with a little of the milk mixture to form a paste in a saucepan, then add the rest of the milk, turn on the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then continue to stir as it thickens.  When the custard is thick enough for your tastes, take it off the heat (remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools). Serve warm or cold, with a dessert or on it's own!