Custards are one of the easiest things to make for your family. However, it can also be tricky. Here are some of the questions we gathered about custards. We hope these will help our dear readers in time for the coming holiday season.

Q: I am a homemaker with two kids. I would like to ask why the crème brulee that I made bubbled up during baking. I would like to surprise my husband with a perfectly smooth crème brulee. How do I go about it?  Thank you very much. (Maricel Yao) 

Adoree: Hi, Maricel.  It is such a joy to find someone who makes time to prepare something special for her family. Your husband is lucky to have you. Crème brulee must be baked in a bain marie or a hot water bath. This ensures gentle baking for your crème brulee so that it does not bubble up or end up over-baked.  

You have to put the brulee containers in a bigger dish with hot water covering filled half of the brulee molds. 

Be careful in filling the bigger mold with water. You do not want too much water as it might get into the crème brulee. You do not want too little water as well, as it might dry up during baking. The oven temperature has to be set at 300 F. Too high a temperature will also cause your crème brulee to bubble up. Good luck!

Jun Jun: The main reason why your crème brulee bubbled up during baking is because of the heat of your oven. Since bubbles are from air, the temperature of your oven must have been very high and your bain marie started boiling as well as your custard. 

Q: Hi Jun Jun and Adoree.  I would like to ask about baking with the bain marie method. Why is there a need to put water and what is the rule in doing it? Do I apply it to all custards? (Tessa Lorenzana of Makati)

Adoree: Bain marie means baking with a hot water bath. The pan where you place the item you are baking is put in another bigger pan which contains hot water. This technique is done to ensure even, gentle baking. The water shoul cover half of the pan you are baking.

Most custards are baked in a bain marie, especially if there is no starch in the custard recipe and if the item has no crust. These recipes tend to curdle if not baked in a bain marie. Some of the items that need to baked bain marie are crème brulees, cheesecakes with no flour in them, and leche flan.

Jun Jun: That’s right, Tessa, that’s a complete answer to go with your question. The gentle heat gives even cooking for desserts with egg and those that should be smooth, silky and soft. However, overcooking also happens here when the item is left too long in the oven. So take into consideration the time it spends in the oven as well as the temperature and amount of hot water in the baking container. 

Q: How do I prevent my cheesecake from browning? And how do I make it dense and heavy? Can I put a crust up to the sides? (Joy Corpuz of Quezon City)

Adoree: Cheesecakes can be baked at a lower oven temperature, 300 to 325 F, to prevent it from browning. The density of the cheesecake relies on the amount of cream cheese called for in the recipe; the more cream cheese there is, the heavier and denser it will be. You should also avoid incorporating too much air into the mixture so that your cheesecake turns out dense. When mixing, use the lowest speed of your mixture. 

You can put the crust all the way to the side. You may line your cheesecake with just a bottom crust or you may extend the crust to the side; it’s a just a matter of preference.

Jun Jun:  That’s true Joy. The browning is caused by high heat or you could have placed the mixture too near the source of heat.

Dense and heavy cheesecakes are determined by the amount of air that is incorporated into the mixture, so keep the mixing to a minimum. Putting a crust on the sides can also be done. 

Q: I tried making egg tarts at home. Some came out with cracks. What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Do I bake them in a bain marie? Thank you in advance. (Gail Tenazas of Pasig City)

Adoree: Hi, Gail. Egg tarts are quite tricky to make. The cracking of the centers happens because we usually bake the tarts until the crust are nicely browned. When that happens, the centers are cracked. Try pre-baking the crust until it is almost baked through, then pour in the filling and put them back in the oven to finish cooking.

Baking it in a bain marie is not recommended, because you have a crust that you want to brown and crisp. Adjusting your oven to a lower temperature is also not a good idea, because the crust cannot be baked in that temperature. You will just end up pre-melting the fat in the crust which will result in an oily crust that is tough, instead of flaky.

Jun Jun: An egg tart is baked in two different temperatures, one for the crust the other for the filling. What Adoree just explained is right and correct and should be done when making this wonderful dessert. 

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