Name: Debra Marmor
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: United Kingdom

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

We have a friend who was widowed a few years ago. Since then, my husband and I have more or less adopted him, making sure to have him for dinner on a regular basis (and currently Skyping with him twice a week, as he hates being alone). The challenge is that he ‘doesn’t eat dessert’ (my husband has a sweet tooth and I love making them) – unless it is white chocolate or raspberry. He also loves crab.

Every time he comes over, I try to find a new way to include crab in canapés or the starter, and white chocolate and/ or raspberries in the dessert.

I should also mention that I cannot make a regular custard, that staple of British desserts, to save my life. It either doesn’t thicken or the eggs scramble. Unfortunately, my husband loves the stuff (me, not so much). You can get custard mix in powdered form at the supermarket, but because I can’t make it from scratch, my husband can’t have it. 😊

And then I stumbled on this recipe for a white chocolate custard. Add a splash of Chambord (black raspberry liqueur) et voila! It never fails to come out perfectly and tastes great in or on anything, or just by itself. It always goes down a treat with our friend (and my husband!).

White Chocolate (Raspberry) Custard

Makes 3 cups. 30 minutes + cooling/ chilling

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp corn starch/ cornflour
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 ½ cups (ish) whole milk
• ½ cup/ 115 g cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup/ 150g white chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp Chambord (raspberry liqueur)
•  

Instructions:

1. In a heavy, large saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn starch/flour and salt
2. Put on medium-high heat
3. Immediately whisk in milk and egg yolks while burner is heating up
4. Continue whisking while liquid is heating up, 10-15 minutes, keeping temperature at medium-high heat until custard is fully thickened
5. Once it starts to thicken and bubble, turn off burner and take pan off the heat
6. One by one, add the vanilla, white chocolate chips, cold butter pieces and Chambord while you continue to stir with your whisk
7. Once the butter and white chocolate have melted, put it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap making sure the wrap is touching the custard all over to prevent a skin from forming
8. Chill until cooled (2-4 hours) or overnight
9. Serve on anything (cakes, brownies, etc) or in anything (crepes, cupcakes, between cake layers, etc), or just on its own maybe topped with some fresh raspberries (your call whether it is primarily custard with some berries, or berries with some custard).

Source:

Adapted from Gloria’s recipe on SimplyGloria.com