Baked Maple Custard

In the summer we love our homemade ice cream, and try to utilize as many local ingredients as possible.  I think the best all local ice cream was our Maple Walnut Ice Cream which was super delicious.  In the winter though we don’t crave ice cream nearly the way we do when we’re sweating and enjoying dinner on the back porch because the house is too hot (something I would gladly welcome right now!).  So in the winter I’ve taken to making custards.  They are so simple and their flavor is incredible.  When made well the creaminess of the custard is unlike any other dessert.

So of course I set about to tweak the classic baked custard recipe into an almost 100% local custard.  Maple syrup brings with it a wonderful flavor and easily replaces sugar in the recipe.  The custard seems to be flexible on how many eggs you use and is worth playing around with two or three times until you find a consistency that is just right for you.  Oh and for those of you looking for simple, the ingredients are eggs, milk, cream (optional), maple syrup, and vanilla.  If you’re a true 100-miler you could easily omit the vanilla.  Hey, at least we bought it in Mexico, where it was local….

I shared the recipe on Bailey’s Local Foods site so go check it out and make yourself a truly local dessert that is perfect for this time of year!