Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Tuesdays With Dorie: In Which I Invent A New Word

[Editor's Note: I've been feeling like a TWD slacker recently. Life has been so hectic, I've had to skip a week here or there, and I haven't been able to visit and comment on everyone else's blogs like I've wanted to. Apologies and air kisses all around! With vows to do better, it is onward and upward.]

I'm back in the game this week with Lemon Cup Custard...except, it's not your usual custard. Prior to making it, I read a bunch of grumbles on the TWD blog about this dessert. The consensus seemed to be that it was way too eggy, and multiple people mentioned that it was more like a flan in taste and texture. So, rather than make a disappointing custard, I decided to flan-ify it.

That's right, I made Lemon Cup Flan-Custard, or as I like to call it:

Lemon Cup Flustard!
To make a proper Flustard! (yes, the exclamation mark is mandatory) first begin with a mediocre custard recipe. Add lots of extra lemon zest and lemon emulsion (or extract) to boost the flavor and mask the egginess. Make a dark caramel and coat the inside of your ramekins with it.

Follow baking directions, while wondering what purpose the paper towel in the water bath serves. (Anyone know? Bueller?) Cover your pan with foil while it bakes, but don't take into account the fact that this might make your Flustard! bake faster. Check it after 35 minutes to find a very well-baked Flustard!, with nary a jiggling belly in sight. Assure yourself that more baking time equals more deliciousness. Since it is late at night, and nothing but glorious natural lighting will do for your precious photographs, refrigerate the Flustards! until the next day.

Unmold the Flustards! on your serving dish of choice. Take comfort in the fact that they look flan-ish, if nothing else. Although you're dying to take a bite to see how they taste, control those ants in your pants until you get a few photographs. At last, tell yourself you need a photograph of the inside "for the blog," so take a big bite of that Flustard! for professional purposes only.

...

Yes, a bit too eggy. And not very flavorful otherwise. And the texture is too rubbery, although that may have had something to do with the, uh, generous baking time provided.

Give your husband, the human garbage disposal, the remainder of the Flustard! to gauge his reaction. Observe his unimpressed look. Sigh. Comfort yourself with the fact that even though the dessert was lacking, you have added a valuable word to the English baking lexicon. Sleep the sound sleep of the victorious.

17 comments:

  1. Too bad you didn't like it... O well, at leaast your flustard looks amazing!!

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  2. Love your post and new word! Too funny!

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  3. Flustard, indeed.
    At least you gave it a go - and it looks great!

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  4. Flustard....giggle.

    I love it.

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  5. Anonymous8:28 AM

    Hahah great post!!! Love the name!!! Flustard ... flustered... goes with the feelings of a lot of TWDers this week! I actually loved this recipe... Sorry you were underwhelmed! Quite a creative take on it, though!

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  6. Man, if Flustard! couldn't excite the human garbage disposal, then there's something wrong with the recipe. Even the caramel can't mask the eggy blandness. Not good, not good at all. On the flip side, these look really pretty and like they would taste marvelously Flustard-icious! So, I'm going to imagine them as tasting such!

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  7. I'll have two flustards to go with an extra side of sauce, please!

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  8. Like the new word! Your pics look great... sorry yout "flustard" wasn't what you expected.

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  9. Love your post. My husband, who pretty much likes any pudding/custard, thought this was disgusting. Oh, well- one bad recipe out of how many have we made?

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  10. Anonymous1:10 PM

    I think they look (and probably taste) great! Love the presentation of them!

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  11. FLUSTARD!! Great word. They look great despite the fact you all didn't like them.

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  12. Anonymous2:06 PM

    I like your flustard! It looks gorgeous. Too bad it wasn't a success. By the way, I don't think you've been a slacker.

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  13. heehhee. I like your new word. Glad you tried it even with the comments you read! :)

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  14. We need to submit this to Websters to put in next year's dictionary! :) Love your take on this and for making it!

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  15. Anonymous11:03 AM

    I like that name - flustered :). I'm also a fan of flan, yum; I'd like to try it with these flavors!

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  16. Haha, love the Flustards! And I agree, Flustards! require exclamation points at every possible moment. They look wonderful, even though you weren't wowed.

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  17. Nice looking Flustards you have there!

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