Is this the best comfort food ever? I think so. I hadn’t made it for decades, then three times in the last few months. Grammy made it for us when we were kids. Am I reverting to my childhood?

This recipe involves more steps that some other ones you can find on the net. But it’s delicious, less sweet than many, and only takes about 15 minutes.

It’s an “Amish” recipe but you need a hand mixer. Go figure.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (mine is 25 degrees low):

Beat four large eggs on medium-slow speed for 30 seconds:

Add 1/2 C. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and whisk to combine:

Scald four cups milk, which means heating it up to 180 degrees. You can do this in a saucepan or the microwave. If you use the micro, it will take about 5-7 minutes, and it’s a good idea to stir it every two minutes or so.

It you don’t have a thermometer, no worries, just heat the milk until it’s steaming quite a bit, but not yet boiling.

Slowly pour about a cup of the milk into the eggs, whisking furiously, so you don’t get scrambled eggs:

Add the rest of the milk, continuing to whisk, then beat it for 20-30 seconds.

You can use six 10 oz. ramekins, but I don’t have those, so I use a loaf pan.

Whatever you use, find a pan that fits in an outside pan, so that you can put almost-boiling water around the inside pan (or ramekins). The water tempers the heat of the oven, so the eggs cook consistently.

(Optional) Sprinkle some nutmeg or cinnamon over the top. I love nutmeg, but can’t find my lovely little lumps (the spice fairies must have carried them away in the night for their nefarious activities), so tried cardamom, which I love in Indian desserts.

I don’t know if cardamom and vanilla will play well together, but we’ll see.

Bung the whole into the oven. Whether you choose to add nearly-boiling water before or after putting it into the oven, be careful! Second-degree burns won’t add to anyone’s enjoyment.

If you are using ramekins, they will be ready in about 50 minutes. With my pan, it takes more like 1-1/2 hours. Just check it every half hour or so.

It’s ready when you insert a knife and it comes out clean. It will still be a bit jiggy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JcmQONgXJM) in the middle, but the residual heat Will continue to cook the eggs and they Will become firmer.

Soft, silky, creamy with a slightly denser crust. One of the things I love most about custard is that it leaks out a slightly sweeter liquid, and that’s all I have to say about that.

The cardamom was okay, but I don’t think it and vanilla were the best of bedfellows, so won’t try that again.

I’ve managed to make this sound a lot more complicated than it is . . . you can’t really f*ck up any baked custard recipe, and it will probably be delicious.

-R