Guest Author - Anita Burroughs

Custard is the perfect elegant dish for company, and one that adults and children alike just love. The only tough thing about this recipe is being able to hold off diving in until the custards cool down after baking.

This recipe calls for bourbon, scotch or whiskey. If you prefer to leave this out, you can substitute one part of vanilla extract and two parts water for the alcohol. If you don’t have maple extract or maple flavoring, you can substitute vanilla extract.

Here goes the recipe:

One cup heavy cream
One cup whole milk
½ vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1 cup maple syrup (I recommend real maple syrup, not corn syrup substitutes like the Aunt Jemima brand)
1 ½ teaspoons maple extract
¼ cup bourbon, whiskey or scotch
pinch of salt

First bring the cream, milk and the split vanilla bean to a boil in a medium sized pot. Once it boils, remove it from the heat and let the mixture cool down a bit.

Now whisk together the eggs, yolks and maple syrup in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the warm milk and cream. Now strain the mixture through a fine sieve and into a clean bowl. Pour the custard with a ladle into six individual ramekins, or into custard cups.

Now preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan, and pour in hot water until it comes up halfway to the sides of the pan. Bake until the custards are set, about 30-40 minutes. Let the custards cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate them for at least two hours or overnight.

These custards can be served with whipped cream, and also pair beautifully with gingersnaps. The spices add a nice surprise zing.

Here is a wonderful recipe for gingersnaps:

8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup maple syrup
2 ½ cups bread flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon each of black pepper, cloves, allspice and dry mustard

Preheat your oven to 350, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. In a mixture with a paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Now add the eggs one at a time until they are just mixed together.

Now add the molasses and maple syrup and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking soda, one teaspoon of the ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, allspice and dry mustard. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Now mix together the rest of the ¼ cup of sugar and one teaspoon of ginger in a small bowl. Form the dough into one half inch balls, and roll in the ginger sugar. Place the cookies two inches apart on your baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are set and the tops begin to crack. Place the cookies on a baking rack and let them cool for ten minutes.