With panna no-cotta under our belts, custard was next. We put sugar, salt and egg yolks in a blender. We put milk and cream into a pot. We turned the blender on low as we brought the dairy to a boil. Then we drizzled the hot cream mixture into the running blender with the yolks. We increased the speed to medium high to fully blend the ingredients. We turned off the blender and checked the temperature of the custard base, it was 75°C. We poured the mixture back into the pot and cooked it over medium low heat until it reached 82.5°C. Then we cooled it down to 44°C and stirred in some yogurt to culture the custard.
We decanted the base into a variety of bowls and placed them into a CVap Pod set at 44°C for 5 hours. The custard firmed and gelled. It still had some wiggle. We put it in the refrigerator to cool overnight. When we tasted them this morning the custards had a delicious tang and a nicely balanced flavor. The lactic notes kept the richness of the yolks and sweetness of the sugar in check. Unfortunately, the texture is still not quite right. Perhaps with the addition of cream, sugar and egg yolks we need more time to culture the custard so it thickens a bit more. I forgot to add the non fat milk powder in this version, which also would have increased the culture's ability to thicken the custard. We put several back into the CVap this morning to culture further. We shall see what the additional time does for the texture and flavor.
Years Past
