Knock, knock. Valentine’s Day is next week. Preparing you for a breakfast in bed situation with these custard breakfast parfaits.
So don’t freak out.
I know that February 14th falls dreadfully in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday no less, but this would actually work for a lazy Saturday morning, or better, as a bit of a fancy mid-week surprise.
The idea for this actually came from many angles. First, the lobster and gruyere scrambled eggs from a few years ago reminded me that fancy breakfasts are nice, even if they aren’t super complicated or involved. Second, breakfast is personally my favorite meal. Third, so is custard. Fourth, Valentine’s Day also happens to be my half-birthday, so in other words, let’s combine favorites and eat what I want. I thought I’d invite you to join me in this endeavor.
The idea behind this particular recipe was to make something ordinary- a breakfast yogurt parfait- extraordinary, making a creamy custard and garnishing with brûléed blood orange slices. Like I said, ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Have you ever made a stovetop custard? Any custard is good, but this comes together quite quickly and doesn’t need a ton of time to set (mine did not, which is why this appears a little runny).
My original idea was to make a buttermilk blood orange custard but 1) buttermilk curdles when heated- did you know this? and 2) citrus curdles milk. Duh. Anyway, more experimentation in that vein to come, but this is delicious as is, no less.
So, custard-granola (homemade is best!)-your sweetie’s favorite fruit- orange slices. Totally doable, right?
Pick up some flaky pastries and strong coffee to round it all out, you just may want to play hooky and keep the morning going all day long.
Hey! I’m still on vacation. Keep up with my adventures on Instagram! #Vietnamaste.
Custard Breakfast Parfaits
Ingredients
- For the custard:
- 2 cups whole milk or heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 6 TB granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp blood orange zest
- For the rest:
- 2 cups homemade granola
- 2 cups berries, your favorite!
- 4 slices blood orange
- 4 tsp granulated sugar
Directions
- Step 1 To make the custard, add the cream in a small saucepan. Heat on medium-low to medium heat until the milk is hot and small bubbles are forming around the sides of the pan.
- Step 2 While the milk is cooking, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks until frothy. Add the sugar, zest and salt and continue stirring until well combined and a lighter yellow color. Temper the eggs by stirring a cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture and beat to combine, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining milk in the saucepan.
- Step 3 Reduce heat to medium-low and cook the custard, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Be careful to not let the custard stick to the bottom and burn. Remove the saucepan from the stove and add the vanilla.
- Step 4 Let cool in an ice bath, or cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill and set.
- Step 5 To serve, layer the granola, fruit and custard together in four bowls. Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar onto 1 slice of orange. Using a cooking torch, burn the sugar, and garnish parfait with the orange slice. Repeat for all four slices.
