Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard Cups

Of all the citrus available in the winter, my absolute favorite is the blood orange. I first encountered blood oranges around seven years ago at the farmer’s market, and I was curious why this particular type of orange had the prettiest, maroonish skin, and the flesh was a gorgeous crimson hue, too. I dove into a small container of sample slices for a taste. When I took my first bite, my eyes opened wide: It was very sweet, slightly tart and brightly flavored. My mind started racing — what kind of jams or desserts could I make with this wonderful fruit?

How I came up with the Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade?

At that time, I was heavily into making jam; I ran a business part-time and sold jars online. I even made jam for a few weddings! For me, it’s a therapeutic activity, from the sweet aroma of cutting the fruits, to marinating the fruit in sugar and herbs, to cooking the mixture and finally canning. My favorite part is observing how the beautiful color of the fruit shines through the jam in the daylight.

BEST way to NOT have a bitter Marmalade!

One of my favorite marmalades to date is my Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade. (You can find the recipe in my cookbook, “Mumbai Modern.”) I tend to use the zest and flesh of the blood orange, but remove the white pith because it’s bitter. The earthy rosemary cuts through the sweetness, and the result makes a fantastic addition to a cheeseboard. It’s also wonderful simply slathered on a slice of sourdough toast with a layer of salted butter, and makes a great gift for friends and family.

Blood Orange season timeline

Blood orange season is short, usually from January to March. So I tend to use blood oranges as much as I can this time of year, whether it’s for marmalades or blood orange curd for gifting, or in cakes, cookies and tarts.

RIFF on the Classic Banana Pudding!

This particular dessert is my riff on the classic banana pudding, typically layers of vanilla custard, Nilla wafers and banana slices.

Ingredients for the Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard:

The ingredients for the blood orange and cardamom custard are:

• Heavy Cream: Heavy cream makes for a velvety and creamy custard. Do not substitute it with whole milk, because the results will not be the same.
• Ground Cardamom: I use cardamom seeds, and grind them fresh, because it does impart the best flavor.
• Egg Yolks: Egg yolks make for a denser and creamy custard.
• Granulated Sugar: Sugar helps to provide the sweetness to the custard. This custard is not too sweet.
• Cornstarch: It helps the custard to reach a thick consistency.
• Blood orange juice and zest: Zest provides a lot of great flavor to the end product, along with the juice. Juice also gives the custard a pretty color.
• Vanilla extract

How to make the Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard?

Instead, I make a blood orange and cardamom custard — the floral touch of cardamom with the slightly tart blood orange makes a great pairing. While the heavy cream and cardamom heat up on the stove, I whip the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until they turn pale yellow. (The cornstarch helps the custard reach a thick consistency.) Then I whisk in blood orange juice and zest, which has a ton of flavor.

Tempering the mixture to get to the custard stage – do NOT get intimated!

If you’ve never made custard or lemon curd before, this part might sound intimidating, but it’s actually quite easy: To temper the mixture, you  add a little bit of heavy cream, whisk, then add a little bit more, so you don’t scramble the eggs. After heating the custard until thickened, you strain it to remove the zest — and any possible bits of scrambled egg — and then let it set in the fridge for a few hours.

You fold some whipped cream into the cooled custard for a lighter texture, along with Nilla wafers and blood orange slices, ideally in glasses so you can see the distinct layers.

Decorations and Garnishes

My favorite part about making desserts is the decoration and garnishes. This is completely optional, but hey, given a choice, would you eat a dessert that is visually appealing, or is served as is without any fancy fixins? I pick the former. That’s why I pipe the top with whipped cream, along with a garnish of candied blood orange slices, blood orange zest and edible gold. Edible gold is easily available online, and adds quite a touch of elegance to an otherwise simple dessert.  

Why make the candied blood oranges? It is a MUST!

If you make the candied blood orange slices, know that they’re a delightful snack to have around. They firm up just like any other candied fruit, and are slightly chewy, sweet and citrusy. They make an amazing addition to a cheese board, or can be a great gift for hosts.

Finally, the puddings need to sit for a few hours in the fridge so that all the layers meld together, but they’re totally worth the wait.

I have tons of blood orange recipes on the blog. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed making them.

Here are some of the blood orange recipes that I have made over the years:

• Blood Orange and Strawberry Madeleines
• Blood Orange Ganache stuffed Cookies with Dark Chocolate
• Blood Orange and Black Sesame Cake

If you do make this recipe, please tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.

XO
Amisha

Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard Cups

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• Amisha Gurbani

This riff on banana pudding layers blood orange custard, Nilla Wafers and blood orange slices, with warm cardamom adding a lovely floral note. The candied blood oranges make for a beautiful garnish, but the custard cups will still be delicious without them. You’ll also need a piping bag and ¼-inch French star tip to decorate, though you could also simply spoon whipped cream on top.

*Serves 4*

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Candied Blood Oranges (optional):

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 blood oranges, edges trimmed and cut into ⅛-inch slices

Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
• 4 eggs yolks
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Zest of 1 blood orange
• ⅓ cup blood orange juice
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Assembly:

• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 56 Nilla Wafers
• 3 small blood oranges, edges trimmed and skin peeled
• 2 slices Candied Blood Oranges, quartered (optional)
• Edible gold (optional)
• Blood orange zest

Get Recipe Ingredients

Make the Candied Blood Oranges:

1. In a medium saucepan, on medium to high heat, add the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the blood orange slices. Using a rubber spatula, separate them so they are not sitting on top of each other.
2. Boil the mixture for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and set to the side.
4. Using tongs, gently remove each blood orange slice, draining off excess liquid, and place it on the wire rack. Make sure the blood orange slices don’t touch each other. (You can pour the remaining liquid in a bottle and store in the fridge as a simple syrup for cocktails.)
5. Let the slices dry out overnight in a cool place. The next day, flip the slices and rest overnight again.
6. Store the slices in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to a month.

Blood Orange and Cardamom Custard:

1. In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, add the heavy cream and ground cardamom. Warm for about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and blood orange zest. Whisk with a balloon whisk vigorously for about 2 minutes, until the mixture looks pale yellow and is ribbon-like in texture.
3. Add blood orange juice and whisk until well combined.
4. Temper the egg yolk mixture: Add about ⅓ cup of the warm heavy cream into the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Repeat twice.
5. Add the egg mixture back into the heavy cream in the saucepan and keep whisking for about 4 to 5 minutes over medium to low heat. When it’s done, the mixture will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula.
6. Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into another bowl, for a smooth custard. Add the vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
7. Cover with plastic wrap, touching the custard directly to prevent a skin from forming, and place in the fridge for 4 hours, or up to overnight.

Assemble:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk for about 1½ minutes at high speed until stiff peaks form. When the whisk is inverted, the peak should stay.
2. Place half of the whipped cream into a piping bag, fitted with a french star tip. Place it in the fridge until ready to use.
3. Put the blood orange custard from the fridge into a medium bowl. Add the remaining whipped cream into the custard and fold it in, until combined.
4. Supreme the blood oranges, into slices.
5. Place 36 Nilla Wafers in a plastic bag, close it, and using a rolling pin, beat the bag to break up the wafers into fine crumbs. Place about a tablespoon aside for garnish.
6. Distribute the crumbs evenly between four 8-ounce glasses.
7. Scoop about ¼ cup of custard into each glass. Use the back of a spoon or a small rubber spatula to smooth the top.
8. Layer about 5 Nilla Wafers in each glass.
9. Add a thin, even layer of blood orange segments on top. 
10. Fill the rest of the glasses with more custard. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. 
11. Place the glasses in the fridge and cover with a tray. (If you use plastic wrap here, you’ll disturb the smoothness of the top of the custards.) Set for about 6 hours.
12. Decorate and Garnish: When ready to serve, pipe whipped cream, using the piping bag on top of the custard.
13. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top of the piped whipped cream.
14. Garnish each cup with 2 of the quartered Candied Blood Orange slices, edible gold and blood orange zest.

Notes

• Do not get intimidated with the word “custard”. The process is really very easy. Read the instructions a few times and then make the custard.
• If you want to simply decorate it with whipped cream and a Nilla wafer, that is sufficient as well.
• The custard cups can be kept in the fridge for upto 2 days.