Sunday a little bit later on - Christmas trees and microwave custard

I'm on a roll this morning. I've just made 18 christmas tree biscuits (would have made more but I'm out of flour, darn it) and will make more later, plus some stars or whatever. They will make nice pressies for my children. I've also had a go at making some fresh custard, using some left over cream from FGriday,. good vanilla essence rather than a vanilla pod and - most significant thing - using the microwave method I use for lemon curd. I thought it might work as the recipes are really very similar and it did!

All I did was this:
I whisked up 15g or castor sugar with one egg yolk in a pyrex bowl until pale and thick.
I then added 100ml single cream (the amount that was left over) and some vanilla essence.

The bowl then went in the microwave and I cooked it on 600 power for 20 seconds at a time, stirring well in-between each cooking time until it was just under boiling and had thickened. That was it! So simple and so easy. I didn't add the cornflour Delia recommends to prevent curdling because I reckon as long as one only cooks it for 20 seconds, the chances of it getting to curdling point are minimal, but I might try it next time to see if it makes any difference.

My goodness, the difference between 'real' custard and the instant sport is just amazing. It's like comparing bog standard mild low fat cheddar (spit) to the best quality Stilton (I LOVE Stilton, by the way!). There is just no comparison, in fact, and I wonder why it's taken me so long to make the real stuff. As with a number of other things, I won't be going back!