Caramel Custard 2 to 4 hours

A custard dessert to serve with caramel sauce. Make it a day ahead so it can be chilled or bake it overnight in your slow cooker and chill it until dinner.

To Cook: Beat the eggs with an electric beater until thick. Add the vanilla and beat until lemon colored. Add the milk and 2 1/2 cups of the sugar; with the beater on low, combine well. Butter a 2-quart mold. In a heavy medium- sized skillet melt the remaining 2 cups of sugar over a very low heat. When it begins to bubble and turn brown, stir to combine all the sugar in the skillet. When the caramelizing sugar is a medium brown, pour half the caramel into the bottom of the mold. Into the other half of the caramelized sugar in the skillet, pour 1/2 cup of boiling water. Stir over low heat until the mixture bubbles; allow it to cool, then chill for use as sauce. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the mold. Pour 2 cups of hot water into the slow cooker and place the mold on a trivet or rack in the bottom. Cover the pot, but prop the lid open a fraction with a toothpick or a twist of foil to allow excess steam to escape. Cook on High for 2 to 4 hours or until a silver knife inserted in the center of the custard comes out clean. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator, then unmold and serve with caramel sauce over the top. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Grosset & Dunlap, Ny, c1975 From the Recipe Files of: Deidre-Anne Penrod, FGGT98B on Prodigy, J.PENROD3 on GEnie