Espresso-Cinnamon Cup Custard

Made these Espresso-Cinnamon Cup Custard for dessert. The original recipe in Dorie's book is Lemon Cup Custard. Espresso-Cinnamon is one of the other flavours in "Playing Around" recommended by Dorie.

My kids love it!  As for me, I can get a slight eggy smell, besides the fragrant smell of the espresso. Overall, this is a nice custard to have for dessert. It is not too sweet and is nice when served chilled. 

The texture is silky smooth.

The kids really enjoy the custard.

One more?

And I'm bringing this to a Cookbook Party, hosted by Louise of Months of Edible Celebrations. Louise is celebrating her Blogoversary by throwing a Cookbook Party, and October being the National Cookbook Month! There's a whole list of food celebrations just for the month of October! For full details, hop over to Months of Edible Celebrations. I'm submitting this Cup Custard under the list "Dessert Month"!

Espresso-Cinnamon Cup Custard
(adapted from "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan)
2-1/4 cups whole milk
1 cinnamon stick
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon instant espresso powder


GETTING READY :

Have six (6-ounce, 3/4 cups) custard or coffee cups at hand. Put the milk and cinnamon stick in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and set aside for 30 minutes so the cinnamon can infuse the milk with its flavor. Reheat the milk before mixing the custard.

GETTING READY TO BAKE :

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels and put the custard or coffee cups in the pan. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

In a 1-quart glass measuring cup or a heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until well blended. Still whisking, strain in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk little by little-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly strain in the remaining milk. Discard the cinnamon stick. Stir in the instant espresso powder.

With a spoon, skim the foam off the top of the custard, then pour the custard into the cups. Very carefully slide the roasting pan into the oven, then pour enough hot water from the teakettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake the custards for 40 to 45 minutes, or until they jiggle only in the center when you tap the cups lightly. Transfer the custards to a rack and cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.