By Melinda 11 Comments
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Mom’s Baked Egg Custard: My Comfort Food
A few weeks ago I made a commitment to myself to get back to blogging. Shortly thereafter my mother had ‘routine’ heart surgery. Two days later I was holding my mother’s hand when that same heart stopped beating. And then it was my birthday. It seems impossible that I can be so unrelentingly sad and yet still not quite believe that she is gone. But each morning when I wake up and there is still no card from the one person in the world I could always count on to remember my birthday it sinks in a little bit more. And when I post new entries there will always be one less ‘like’ than there used to be because Mom was my biggest fan, my most loyal supporter, my sounding board, and my best friend. I am grateful for every moment we had.
It’s sort of funny that my last post was “Dad’s Eggs” because while he likes eggs just fine it was my mother that really loved them. The two comfort dishes I can conjure up from childhood are Swedish Pancakes and Custard. But because Mom decided several years ago that I was the better cook I never got the recipe for either. You don’t realize how many more questions you wanted to ask or how many more stories you wanted to hear until the teller is gone.
I know I have to get back to living and so I decided to start here with the custard my Mom made for me when I was sad, and sometimes when I was happy. The maple syrup bit is my own. We never had real maple syrup growing up- Mom would make the fake stuff with artificial maple flavoring and sugar water- and that is what I drenched my Swedish Pancakes in, the thick stuff in the bottle never seemed quite right.
This is for you Momma, I love you.
other Mom inspired comfort dishes you might like
Sunday Morning Swedish Pancakes
and Swedish Pancakes the sheet pan version for a lazy crowd
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| Custard, warm from the oven |
Mom's Baked Egg Custard w/Real Maple Syrup
I don't have my Mother's recipe for baked egg custard but the result, adapted from Marilyn Eddy Siperek on SpicieFoodie.com, tastes like I remember. It helps that I still have the dish Mom always baked custard in, this blue pottery dish made by my Aunt Sally. So both dish and contents remind me of two of the most wonderful and generous women I have ever known- that's comfort food.
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Course Dessert, Gluten free
Cuisine American, Baking
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
- 6 eggs beaten
- 1 cup sugar (225g )
- 1 quart milk (946ml )
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
- Nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp or more Real Maple Syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300.
Mix eggs and sugar together. Add milk, salt, and vanilla and mix. Pour into greased ovensafe casserole dish.
Shake or grate nutmeg so a light coating covers the mixture.
Place casserole dish into hot water bath. Bake for about 1 hour until a knife inserted into centre comes out clean.
Drizzle maple syrup over the top and broil for just a minute.
Serve warm, with more maple syrup if desired. It is also delicious the next day even if you are crying.
Notes
This dish bakes in a hot water bath. Choose an oven safe casserole dish and a larger pot that is large enough and deep enough to allow insertion of the casserole dish.
Tried this recipe?Mention @recipefiction or tag #recipefiction!
Reader Interactions
Comments
Margaret saysThank you, Melinda. I’ll be making this soon. I never experienced Janet’s cooking, except the one time she came and made wonderful chiles rellenos at our house. That’s a dish I’ve never dared make at home and only order in restaurants. Maple extract in sugar syrup was the maple syrup of my childhood, too. I also treasure the Sally McC pottery pieces that we have–particularly a cookie jar with the Happy Birthday quote from Winnie the Pooh running around the edge: Hipy Papy Bthuthdth Bthuthdy. We keep quinoa in it, which seems fitting.
Love, Margaret
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- Melinda says
Mom was a better cook than she gave herself credit for. She gave me the casserole dish when she downsized and it’s been up on the shelf because I didn’t want to use it for just anything. But Mom didn’t believe in locking things away for special occasions.
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- saramc says
Thank you for this, and I know the heart break at losing your loyal supporter. I will send the swedish pancake recipe.
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- Melinda says
Thanks and thanks for the recipe. Glad one side of the family kept it!
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- anevolution says
Awesome tribute to your mom. My heart breaks for you. Food evokes memories of my parents also. I never thought that maybe Why it was called comfort food. Sometimes it’s just a smell that brings me back to happy Sunday or any day really. Thanks for posting and sharing. *virtual hug*
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- Melinda says
Thank you. I’m all about the comfort food right now. It’s a good thing that some of my comfort foods are actually good for me.
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- Cheryl says
Melinda, this is a beautiful tribute to your mom. I cannot yet believe she is gone either. I love custard, so when I have it I’ll think of her- like she’s sending comforting thoughts from afar. Hugs to you…
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- Melinda says
Thank you Cheryl. I’m so glad you made it yesterday.
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- Unknown says
Hi Melinda…it was nice to meet you and to hear all the great things that were shared about your mom. She was a great person. Take Care and thank you for sharing.
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- Esta Fish says
Wow!! Love your blog, and after drying my eyes from your beautiful touching story, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I understand and know the pain you have from your loss. I cherish all the recipes my mother was so kind to leave me with her own handwriting, and now the ones I use the most are covered with years of splatters that make me smile, knowing they have been well used.
You are a very special and wonderful lady, and I feel so blessed you are part of our family.
Now to make the request for our thanksgiving dinner, I can’t wait to try the custard if you would like to do that.. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My mom made this as it was a fave of my dads, and I loved it too. It is something I have only tried to make years ago, as I was the only one that liked it. Anyway great job with your site. We are so excited to see you and taste this wonderful dish and tribute to your mother.Reply
- recipefiction says
Thanks for stopping by Esta. Of course I can make the custard for Thanksgiving. Excited to see you too.
Reply
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