Vanilla Custard

A Little Something

You know those days when you sit down to eat your meal, you enjoy it, and then you want just a little something more? This Vanilla Custard does a great job of fulfilling that “something more” craving. It is low carb, creamy, sweet and super satisfying. Check out how to make it — only 10 minutes of hands on time!

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Origins of Custard

A quick search taught me that custard has been enjoyed since the Middle Ages. It has always been milk or cream thickened by eggs, but it used to bind together savory ingredients, such as lamb or other meat. Can you imagine a savory custard? I would try anything, and I supposed that a quiche or frittata isn’t too far off from the original custard concoctions.

However, I like my custard mildly sweet. Traditional custard uses heavy cream, sugar, eggs and a flavor such as lemon or vanilla. As desserts go, custards have a good amount of protein in them due to the eggs. But the sugar and the dairy proved to be problematic for me. Sugar is addictive and damaging to the body. Dairy is fine for some (and I can do some raw dairy) but all that heavy cream in a dessert would give me a stomach ache

The Keto & Paleo Solution

While I don’t always choose keto or paleo recipes, I often do when it comes to desserts. They feel lighter to me and they don’t lead me to overeat. As I mentioned with sugar being addictive, it’s hard to stop eating sugar once you start. Yet there are other sweeteners such as pure monk fruit sweetener that don’t spike blood sugar, have zero carbs and don’t lead to overconsuming. It sounds too good to be true, but it is.

You only need a tiny bit of pure monk fruit sweetener. Which is good, because pure monk fruit is a little pricey. The recipe I use for the vanilla custard has 1 teaspoon split between four servings, and I think I could even use a little less since the coconut milk is naturally sweet.

Other sweeteners I have used are a monk fruit and erythritol blend and stevia. I’m not as much of a fan of the aftertaste of stevia, but everyone is different, so it may work for you.

That’s the story on the sweeteners. Regarding the other ingredients, they are simple pantry items: coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract.

Coconut milk is a wonderful food. And I do call it a food more than a drink because it is made from the flesh of the coconut, is high in healthy fats and is very filling. According to this site, coconut milk may help improve your heart health, give you energy, help with digestion, and lower inflammation. What’s not to love about it? I especially love that it can stand in for dairy in so many recipes.

The eggs in these lovely vanilla custards are packed with protein which build muscle and help you stay full between meals. They contain choline, which supports the cardiovascular system, and they contain healthy fats in the yolk.

Would you ever guess a dessert could be so good for you?

How to Make Vanilla Custard

Make sure to preheat the oven ahead of time to 350. You will need a blender or immersion blender to whip up these custards. It will take you about 10 minutes to assemble the ingredients, blend them together and pop everything into the oven.

After blending the ingredients, you will place the ramekins in an empty casserole dish. If your ramekins are large, use 4, if they are small, use 6.

Bring a pot of water to boil (at least two cups). Divide the custard mixture evenly between the ramekins. Pour the boiling water into the casserole dish so the water fills partway up the outer sides of the ramekins. The hot water will help the custards to bake evenly.

Bake the custards for about 35 minutes. Let them cool until you can remove them from the casserole, then chill them for about two hours. You can eat them warm, if you like, but I like the texture better chilled.

Garnish with toppings such as coconut, cocoa nibs, berries or cinnamon and enjoy!