Savoury Custards
Cooking Skills: Eggs 2
Chapter 4 · Savoury Custards
Skill goal
Bake a savoury egg custard in a pastry case with a crisp base and a silky filling.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A quiche is a baked custard with a savoury filling, and everything in the last chapter about gentle heat and the jiggle test applies. What is new is the ratio of egg to liquid, the pastry case and the fillings, which need pre-cooking so they don't add water.
| Ratio (per 20 cm quiche) | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 egg to 100 ml liquid (3 eggs, 300 ml) | Soft, creamy, just-set slice; the classic |
| 1 egg to 75 ml liquid (4 eggs, 300 ml) | Firmer, eggier, holds its shape |
| 1 egg to 150 ml liquid (2 eggs, 300 ml) | Very soft and delicate; may not cut cleanly |
- Liquid: a mix of milk and single cream is a good balance. All milk is lighter but less rich; all cream is richer than most people want.
- Fillings: cook meat and vegetables first and drain off any liquid. Wet fillings make a watery quiche and a soggy base.
- Seasoning: custard needs a good pinch of salt and pepper, plus a pinch of mustard powder or nutmeg.
- Temperature: 160°C fan (180°C conventional, gas 4). Any hotter and the custard overcooks before the pastry browns.
- Rest: let the quiche stand for 10 minutes before cutting, because it firms up as it cools. It's lovely warm or cold.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Savoury bread pudding
A quiche without the pastry, using bread to hold the custard. The easiest way to learn the savoury custard ratio.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 4 slices day-old bread, torn into pieces
- 100 g mature Cheddar, grated
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 3 medium eggs
- 300 ml semi-skimmed milk
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- A little butter, for greasing
- Heat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C conventional, gas 5). Grease a 1 litre ovenproof dish.
- Put the bread in the dish with the spring onions and two-thirds of the cheese.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, mustard and seasoning. Pour over the bread and press down. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.
- Scatter the rest of the cheese on top and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden and set.
- Rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a salad.
Level 2 · Pastry
Simple shortcrust pastry case
The case for your quiche. It's quick to make by hand. Short of time, use a 320 g ready-rolled sheet of shortcrust pastry from a chiller instead: unroll it, line the tin and carry on from step 3.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 150 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
- 75 g cold butter, cubed
- 2 tbsp cold water
- Pinch of salt
- Rub the butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the water a little at a time and bring it together into a ball with a knife. Don't knead. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll out on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick and use it to line a 20 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, 4 cm deep. Press into the corners and trim the edge. Prick the base with a fork and chill for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6). Line the case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Take out the paper and beans, and bake for another 5 minutes, until the base is pale gold and dry. This is blind baking, and it stops a soggy base.
- If any cracks have appeared, patch them with a scrap of raw pastry, or brush the case with a little beaten egg and bake for 2 minutes to seal it.
Egg to the rescue
Brushing the hot, blind-baked case with beaten egg and putting it back in the oven for 2 minutes creates a waterproof seal against the custard. This is an egg wash doing a useful job.
Level 3 · Classic
Quiche Lorraine-style
Bacon and cheese in a creamy custard: the classic. Use smoked bacon or lardons for flavour.
Ingredients (5 portions)
- 1 blind-baked 20 cm shortcrust case (above)
- 150 g smoked bacon lardons or chopped back bacon
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 50 g Gruyère or mature Cheddar, grated
- 3 medium eggs
- 150 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 150 ml single cream
- Pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Heat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional, gas 4). Fry the bacon in a dry pan for 5 minutes until golden and cooked through. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes more. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Scatter the bacon, onion and half the cheese in the case.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and seasoning together and pour into the case. Scatter over the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and just set with a slight wobble in the middle.
- Rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with a green salad.
Filling the case
Pour in the custard with the case on the oven shelf, pulled out slightly, to avoid spilling it carrying it across the kitchen.
Level 3 · Vegetarian
Spinach and cheese quiche
A lighter, greener quiche. The skill is squeezing the water out of the spinach so the custard stays set.
Ingredients (5 portions)
- 1 blind-baked 20 cm shortcrust case (above)
- 200 g fresh spinach
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 60 g feta or mature Cheddar, crumbled or grated
- 3 medium eggs
- 200 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 100 ml single cream
- Pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Heat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional, gas 4). Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the spinach in handfuls and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Tip into a sieve and press hard with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop roughly.
- Spread the spinach and onion in the case and scatter over the cheese.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and seasoning and pour in. Bake for 30 minutes, until set and lightly golden.
- Rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Experiments
Experiment
Blind-baked vs not
Is blind-baking worth the effort?
- Line two small tart tins with pastry. Blind-bake one, and leave the other raw.
- Fill both with the same custard and bake.
- Cut each open and look at the base.
Look for: A crisp, golden base against a pale, soft, damp one. Most people decide it is worth 20 minutes.
Experiment
Cream, milk or half and half
What does the liquid do?
- Make three small custards, each with 3 eggs and 300 ml of liquid: all milk, all single cream and half-and-half. Bake in ramekins at 160°C fan.
- Taste them when just cool.
Look for: All milk is lighter and slightly firmer, all cream is rich and soft. Half-and-half is the compromise most people end up preferring.
Experiment
Egg-to-liquid ratio
Find the texture you like best.
- Bake three ramekin custards: 2 eggs, 3 eggs and 4 eggs, each with 300 ml of half-and-half milk and cream.
- Cut and compare when cool.
Look for: 2 eggs: soft and delicate, but hard to slice. 4 eggs: firm and eggy. 3 is the classic middle.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or ratio | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savoury bread pudding | ||||
| Shortcrust case | ||||
| Quiche Lorraine-style | ||||
| Spinach and cheese quiche | ||||
| Blind-baked vs not | ||||
| Milk / cream / half and half | ||||
| 2 / 3 / 4 eggs |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Soggy base | Case not blind-baked, or wet filling | Blind-bake, seal with egg, and pre-cook and drain the filling |
| Pastry shrinks in the tin | Overworked pastry, or not chilled | Handle gently, and chill the lined case before baking |
| Pastry cracked and leaked custard | Cracks in the case | Patch with spare pastry and seal with beaten egg |
| Watery filling | Vegetables not drained, or oven too hot | Squeeze out spinach, pre-cook mushrooms, and bake at 160°C fan |
| Puffed up then collapsed | Oven too hot | Lower the temperature. Some puffing is normal and settles |
| Burnt edges, raw middle | Oven too hot, or uneven | Cover the edge with strips of foil; lower the temperature |
| Rubbery, curdled custard | Overbaked | Take it out while it still wobbles in the centre |
Food safety: quiche
Bacon and eggs in the filling must be cooked right through: the custard should be set and the bacon cooked. Cool quickly, refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 2 days. Reheat slices until steaming hot (at least 70°C in the middle). Take care when carrying a hot dish with a runny filling.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make shortcrust pastry or choose a good shop-bought one.
- I can blind-bake a case and seal it with egg.
- I know the ratio of egg to liquid that I like.
- I pre-cook fillings so they don't make the quiche watery.
- I can tell when a quiche is set, and rest it before cutting.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Eggs 2, chapter 5 is Eggs in Cakes and Biscuits: what eggs do in baking, from an all-in-one sponge to egg-yolk shortbread.