Rosemary Lemon Custard
This perfectly balanced sweet and savory rosemary lemon custard is topped with lemon zest to brighten every creamy scoop. It’s the ideal dessert custard to serve at an intimate get-together with 4 to 6 people, or scale up the recipe for a party! Hot or cold, there’s no wrong way to serve it.
This quick and easy-to-make custard gets down to the basics with eggs and milk as the only ingredients. Infusing the milk with rosemary is the secret to reeling back this often overpoweringly sweet dessert, making it bright and savory, and the perfect way to wrap up dinner. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so when clients ask me to come up with dessert options, I am forced to step into a world I wouldn’t otherwise step into. This beautiful warm custard was one of the first things I came up with, and it will likely be one I’ll frequently turn towards to cater for any late-night gathering.
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Rosemary Lemon Custard
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
3 cups of whole milk
¼ cup of rosemary leaves (2 to 3 thumb-long sprigs)
4 egg yolks
½ cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
Instructions
- First, bruise your rosemary with the blunt slide of a knife. In a pot, add your milk and the rosemary, then bring to a polite simmer (75-85 degrees celsius). This should take about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the sprigs of rosemary.
- In a separate bowl, add 4 egg yolks and your sugar, and whisk until well combined.
- Once your milk has come to a very polite simmer, one ladle full at a time, slowly pour some of your milk into the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture until the temperature of the mixture has risen enough to match the milk in the pot (3-5 ladlefuls). Be careful that the mixture does not curdle, by constantly whisking with each pour.
- Pour your tempered egg and sugar mixture back into the pot with milk on low heat (75 degrees celsius).
- Use a rubber spatula to constantly stir and scrap your milk for 10 to 15 minutes as the custard thickens to your preferred thickness.
- Take off the heat, add the zest of one lemon and mix well to combine.
Notes
- Allow to cool before serving, or serve warm – both work great.
- Serve in a bowl with your preferred piece of cake or biscuit in the middle to make it an iceberg dessert
- It can be refrigerated; cover in an airtight container to prevent the formation of skin, and it will stay usable for up to a week in the fridge.
