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custard question

2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  GhostUser 
#1 ·
I have a recipe for custard that has 8 egg yolks. For this, would I just use a normal egg replacer? If not, then i need suggestions.

thanks.
 
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#2 ·
I don't think it would work, b/c you'd probably be able to taste the egg replacer. I have a really good custard recipe from Bryanna on vegsource. Her recipes have never failed me:

BRYANNA'S POURED CUSTARD Makes 4 servings

(Hasn't made it into a book yet.)

(NOTE: for custard sauce, use only 3 T. custard powder.)

This tastes much richer than just using soymilk.

In blender mix:

2/3 c.firm or extra-firm lite SILKEN tofu

1 and 3/4 c. water

4 T. custard powder

4 T. light unbleached sugar or white beet sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla or other extract

1/4 tsp. salt

Pour into a heavy saucepan and stir over high heat til thickened. Or micro 3 min. Whisk. 2 min. Whisk. Chill

NOTE: Custard powder is a common item in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, but if you can't find it in the USA (try a gourmet food store that sells foreign foods), use an equal amount of cornstarch and add a pinch of Spanish saffron to the water.
 
#4 ·
I'm not sure how my suggestion will work in custard, because I haven't tried it. However, I use tofu as an egg replacer in baked goods (such as vegan brownies). Before discovering tofu, I used ripe bananas, but felt tofu worked better. I can't see why tofu wouldn't work in custard. Maybe someone else here can elaborate (??) Anyway, good luck!
 
#6 ·
Here's a recipe from the Earth First Coookbook for Creme Caramel, I haven't made it, but it sounds good-

1/2 C & 2 TBSP sugar

3 TBSP water

3/4 lb silken tofu

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)

To make caramel, disolve 1/2 C sugar in water in a heavy saucepan over gentle heat. Increase the heat and boil until the mixture turns golden brown. Remove from the heat ans very slowly stir in the remaining water. Pour the caramel mixture into individual ramekins and cool.

To make creme, whisk tofu with maple syrup, sugar and vanilla. Spoon in the ramekins. Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until firm. Cool before serving.
 
#7 ·
Sorry kiddo, you're not going to be able to veganise that recipe. There are no egg replacers that properly duplicate the qualites of an egg to the extent that you'd be able to replace 8 eggs. Your best bet would be to find a vegan flan recipe.

You could try the Creme Caramel variation of this recipe.

BRYANNA'S PANNA COTTA (ITALIAN-STYLE "COOKED CREAM" PUDDING)

Serves 8 (From my book "Nonna"s Italian Kitchen")

This rich molded pudding, usually made of cream thickened with gelatin, is a speciality of the Emiglia-Romagna region, one of the richest cuisines in Italy. It is traditionally served by itself, but modern recipes often pair it with fruit or fruit sauce. This makes an excellent light dessert after an elegant company meal.

2 and 1/3 c. soymilk

3/4 tsp. agar powder OR 1 and 1/2 T. agar flakes

1 box (12.3 oz.) extra-firm SILKEN tofu

7 T. light unbleached sugar or white beet sugar

1/3 c. raw cashew pieces, ground in a minichopper or spice mill

5 tsp. EACH vanilla and fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp. lemon extract or grated lemon zest (preferably organic)

1/4 tsp. salt

If you are cooking the pudding on top of the stove, soak the milk and agar in a heavy saucepan while you proceed with the next step. If you are cooking it in the microwave, soak the milk and agar in a large microwave-proof bowl or beaker.

In the food processor, blend the tofu, sugar, ground cashews, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon extract or zest, and salt until VERY smooth-- be patient!

Heat the milk and agar either in the saucepan over high heat, stirring until it comes to a boil, then reducing the heat and simmering 2 minutes; OR in the microwave on HI for 2 minutes, stirring, then on HI for 2 more minutes.

Pour the hot mixture into the feed tube of the food processor while the motor is running, mixing well with the processed mixture. Stir down the bubbles.

Pour into 8 custard cups or molds with fairly wide bottoms (not the kind with very narrow bottoms), rinsed first with cold water. Chill the puddings until firm and cold, then dip the bottoms of the molds in hot water for a few seconds to loosen, and unmold carefully on small dessert plates.

VARIATIONS:

"CREME CARAMEL": Omit the lemon extract or lemon zest from the pudding. Before making the pudding, make a syrup of 5 T. unbleached sugar and 3 T. water. Simmer it uncovered for 5 minutes. Divide the syrup evenly between the 8 custard cups and rotate each cup to coat the bottom and sides with syrup. Pour the pudding into the coated cups and proceed as directed. each pudding will have a coating of syrup on top.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jess B View Post

Sorry kiddo, you're not going to be able to veganise that recipe. There are no egg replacers that properly duplicate the qualites of an egg to the extent that you'd be able to replace 8 eggs. Your best bet would be to find a vegan flan recipe.
To echo what Jess said - the eggs are doing several jobs in the custard.

Specifically: colour, flavour, structure and shortnening.

Ok, colour is easily fixable. The flavour is more of an issue, but then, I suspect that you'll have some flexability on that one.

The shortnening action should not be ignored (an is 12% fat, after all. As it's all in the yolk, the yolks alone will be more than that).

Structure is the critical action here. If the custard doesn't set, then you don't have a flan.

A very important point to note is that egg repacers are designed to replace the whole egg - that's quite different to just the yolk. And, they are designed for baked goods (cakes and so on). For those roles, the levening action of the egg is the most critical, thus a typical egg replacer will give you a fizzy liquid here. Not desired.

You could work through each point, and do some experimenting, till you end up with a workable recipie. However, that would end up not far from Jess' recipe I'd expect, so I'd suggest going with that, and tweaking it to get what your looking for.

I'd drop the lemon juice, and use vanilla sugar (or add vanilla essence), and a pinch of tumeric or saffron (for the colour), to get something custard tart like. Nutmeg for a flavouring agent too.

Note that the cashew nuts add a touch of fat to the mixture, which would (I think) give it a sense of richness.

With experimentation, you might be able to skip the agar, by using less liquid. This would have a much thicker gloop that you bake. Here, youre not really doing much except mixing flavouring agents into the tofu, and then baking it to reset it. (Conceptually, anyway. The devil is, as always, in the details.) That would make it closer to the other tofu based deserts I've seen. (Same principles, on a savoury bent gets you a quiche.) An example is http://www.parsleysoup.co.uk/sweet/chocolate_mousse.htm which shows this off pretty well.

Hrm, sorry rambled a bit there. I think I stopped off at the major points though
 
#9 ·
punkmommy and Jess found recipies that hit it right on the head, I think!

Thanks ladies!


I was thinking the same thing about yolks, what they may be doing to the recipe. But I decided to ask anyway.. you never know, right?

Thanks for all the info, Syntax.


thanks guys! I appreciate it..
 
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