SHF#12 - Pick me up, with Custard

It's SHF again! An excellent event giving me an excuse to meddle in the kitchen, making sweets and treats. My faithful readers, in case you are wondering if you are experience deja vu, nope, I posted this up on the 12th September, waaay earlier than the date of the event. My bad! Anways, this time around, we are playing up with custard, as chosen by of Elise of Simply Recipes. I am rushing to make it for the event so I turned naturally to the book I am reading (still!) for ideas. But nothing really stood out or was appropriate. Somehow, tiramisu seemed to be calling out my name so I decided to make me a "pick me up", with custard instead of the usual mascarpone cheese.

For the cheese layer, I am using a simplified recipe for vanilla pastry cream, which involves cooking eggs with dairy and fitting into the definition of a custard, I whipped in a tablespoon of rum for some alcoholic kick. I also tried another new idea for the sponge layers. Instead of using whole fingers, I crushed storebought ladyfingers into large chunks to so I could fit them into my glasses for individual serving.

Since my dad bought some luscious strawberries, I served them together with the tiramisu, sliced and topped them off with a dollop of, no points for guessing, custard. Surprisingly, believe it or not, this rushed version of tiramisu was not bad! The custard could do with a bit of more rum and bit of vanilla. The recipe below will make those inclusions. But of course, it also cannot measure up to the richness of the traditional dessert. But given its sinless nature, and put everything together, it still tasted quite authentic for a weeknight dessert!

Last minute Tiramisu or Pick me up with Custard
(makes 3)

Custard

1 cup milk
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
4 tsp cornflour
4 tsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp rum

Others

1/2 cup strong expresso
1 tbsp kahlua or other coffee liquer
9 ladyfingers, coarsely crushed
unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Mix flours and sugar together. Add egg and egg yolk. Whisk until pale and thick, about 2 minutes.

2. Heat milk in a pot over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Pour hot milk into the bowl, whisking it as you pour.

3. Pour the milk/egg mixture back into the pot on medium heat. Stir continuously until mixture starts to thicken.

4. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Whisk in the rum and cool in the fridge, about 4 hours. This can keep up to 2 days, until ready to use.

5. Crush ladyfingers (more if you like thicker "cake layers") with something heavy like a bottle. Put the crumbs into a medium mesh strainer. Pour coffee/liquer mixture all over the sponge and let it drip dry.

6. To assemble the dessert, scoop the mushy sponge into your serving dish to about 1/3" thick. Next, add an equal thickness of custard. Repeat. Place them in the fridge until it's set, for about 1 hour. Sift cocoa powder all over the top before serving. The more the better I say.