Caramel Custard

(Serves Six)

2-1/2 c. milk Caramel 3 eggs Pinch of salt
Few drops of vanilla

Heat the milk in a double boiler, add the caramel to the milk, and then cool the mixture. Beat the eggs and add them to the caramel and milk.
Add the salt and vanilla. Pour the custard into buttered baking dishes, set in a pan of warm water, and bake in a moderate oven until firm. Cool and serve.

The test for soft custard, which is exactly opposite from that for baked custard. As soon as the custard mixture lightly coats a spoon it is done. Then it should be removed from the fire and the inner part of the double boiler removed from the outer part to avoid the application of any more heat. If too much heat has been applied or the custard has been cooked too long, the result will be a curdled mass. As soon as this is observed, the custard should be removed from the hot water, placed at once into a pan of cold water, and beaten vigorously with a rotary egg beater. To improve it further, it may be poured through a fine wire sieve or strainer. Unless the curding has gone too far or the egg has been cooked a great deal too long, this treatment will produce a very decided improvement in the custard and possibly bring it to a normal condition.