Custard Sauce for Sweet Puddings or Tarts
Ingredients.--1 pint of milk, 2 eggs, 3oz. of pounded sugar, 1 tablespoonful of brandy Mode.--Put the milk in a very clean saucepan, and let it boil. Beat the eggs, stir to them milk and pounded sugar, and put the mixture into a jug. Place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water; keep stirring well until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Serve the sauce in a tureen, stir in the brandy, and grate a little nutmeg over the top. this sauce may be made very much nicer by using cream instead of milk; but the above recipe will be found quite good enough for ordinary purposes.
Mrs Beeton's Book Of Household Management, 1861
notes
For this recipe I used about 2 1/2 cups of a whole-milk and cream mixture to add richness. After boiling the milk, be sure to pour it into the pot in which you beat your eggs (do not be tempted to add your eggs to the milk) or it will not be smooth and may not thicken properly.
The jug in the boiling water is basically a home-made double boiler, because I also lack a double boiler in the kitchen, I used an enamel bowl set into a pot of boiling water which worked just fine. This is a custard from scratch, using eggs instead of cornstarch like birds custard (which is actually period to this time), so it is going to take a very very long time, in comparison, to become thick. With enough time, this custard can become quite thick if one desired.
In the picture it is seen poured over a cambridge pudding. The recipe claims to be of sufficient quantity for two fruit pies or one pudding
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