Saturday, July 19, 2008

Gruyere custards

Hello everyone, we have had a very exciting week in Sydney with World Youth Day coming to town. There have been pilgrims everywhere and they all look so happy and excited. Their presence has brought some cheer to the cold winter days, and we have been blessed with beautiful clear blue skies and loads of sunshine this week for our visitors. Having said that the nights and early mornings are freezing, so I'm glad I'm not joining the pilgrims to sleep out at Randwick Racecourse tonight. It will be bitterly cold there by about 3.00 tomorrow morning!


This morning I met a friend for a late breakfast at Balmoral, which again, with the clear blue sky and the sparkling water, was the perfect setting. Afterwards I went up to one of my favourite delis in Mosman to buy an Italian cheese for a risotto I'm making tonight. They had the cheese I was after, cut into wedges. All of the wedges were two or three times bigger than I wanted and consequently two or three times more than I wanted to pay. When I asked them if they could cut me a slice of the quantity I wanted I was told that wasn't possible as the cheese is too soft. This is not the first time I have had this experience at this deli. So I went straight across the road to a speciality cheese shop who had the same cheese and happily cut the quantity I was after. Really and truly.

So, all this cheese buying put me in mind of these gruyere custards which are not difficult at all - you really just mix and then cook in a warm bath in the oven. They are perfect for winter, whether as an entree or a light something at night if you have had a big lunch. They are from another of my favourite books, the Autumn/Winter edition of the Short Order + Seasonal book produced by Vogue Entertaining several years ago.

Have a great week, love from Jane xxx

Gruyere custards

  1. Mix together 600ml full cream milk, 80ml cream and 185g grated gruyere in a saucepan.
  2. Cook over a low heat just until the cheese melts.
  3. Mix in 6 lightly beaten eggs and season.
  4. Pour into buttered ramekins.
  5. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour boiling water around the ramekins, about half way up their sides. This makes a nice bath for the custards in which to cook.
  6. Bake in a 180C oven for 15 minutes until set.
  7. If you are feeling extravagant, serve with slices of baked pear drizzled with honey.