Over the years, many items have taken centre stage as “band chow”. Until recently, it was bread pudding -- see below. I remember for a long time it being Entenmann’s Coffee Cake. Sometimes crumb, sometimes raspberry, sometimes cheese-filled. But I got leery of all the unpronounceables in the ingredient list so I decided to start doing a little baking myself. Hence the bread pudding. And, now, the latest addition is my take on custard. I had to experiment a bit but I think I have it the way I want it.
In the summer I use fresh fruit for the topping and in winter I use frozen. The lemon slice offers a tang to cut the sweetness of the sugar and should be removed before spreading the cooked fruit on top.
I’ve found that excluding egg whites altogether makes the custard smoother and the slow baking at a fairly low heat seems to help, too.
It’s a very rich desert -- but sometimes that’s what’s called for.

For the custard:
3 cups of heavy cream
12 egg yolks
2/3 cup of cane sugar
2 Tbs of vanilla extract

For the topping:
12 oz - 16 oz of berries -- frozen or fresh strawberries, bluets, raspberries in any proportion you like.
1/4 cup of cane sugar
slice of lemon
drop of vanilla extract

Place a large tray with water in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 300º F
Heat the cream on the stove until warmed through or, better still scald it. But be careful. Cream on high heat can suddenly ‘go’ and the resulting mess is no fun ...
In an ovenproof bowl whisk the egg yolk and the sugar and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.
Whisk the cream into the egg/sugar mixture, making sure it’s smooth and the sugar is dissolved.
Place the bowl in the tray and ‘tent’ with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Bake for 1 hour and about 15 minutes -- until the center of the custard is firm.
Let cool

While the custard bakes place the berries, sugar and the rest of the ingredients along with a splash of water into a saucepan and place on medium. Heat through and cook about 20 minutes until the fruit is mushy and broken down. Let cool


When the custard and the topping are cooled, spread the topping on the custard and refrigerate until needed. Take out of the ‘fridge about an hour before serving.