Dessert for Two…..

Our beautiful, relaxing three-day weekend has finally come to an end. With summer here the kids are requiring more outside attention, we are making more trips to the park, and just being out and about. I really need to find time to get back into the groove of creating recipes and sharing them. When I’m inspired I’m tired, and when I have the energy I use it elsewhere. So you may see me several times throughout the week during the summer rather than every day. 😉

While keeping in mind the true meaning of the weekend, and remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, we spent a lot of family time together. My husband is an Army veteran so Memorial day and Veteran’s day are very close to our hearts. We took an early morning hike with the kids down to a creek on Saturday, our 3-year-old wanted to go look at the tall buildings in Cincinnati on Sunday so we took a drive over there, and yesterday our son wanted to go for another drive and we went in the opposite direction and enjoyed the beautiful country side on our way out to Cynthiana, KY. All in all, it was a very relaxing weekend and we appreciate having the freedom to do these “little” things.

Today’s recipe started with an idea and evolved. It wasn’t even how I really planned it from the beginning, but it turned out yummy and should be given a try. 😉 Generally, I post the calorie count on foods, but this one I’m not. Sometimes you just have to eat and enjoy. When you are eating something that is as clean as this recipe is you really can’t go wrong. Will you get fat if you eat it every day? Of course! That will happen with even the healthiest food. Everything in moderation. My suggestion is share this with someone. Indulge, and share.

There really aren’t any special instructions. This is actually a super easy recipe, and fairly quick to throw together. I used almond meal for the crust that I had leftover when I ground some almonds for another recipe. I had baked some “candied” almonds this morning to go on top of the custard, but forgot all about them in the midst of juggling kids, trying to keep the bugs away, and taking pictures. (I candied them with date syrup. I might have to share them at a later time.) Not in the mood for the crust? No problem, go crustless! The only issue I found with this is that after a few hours the crust gets soggy, just like a pie would. So, you will want to eat it fairly soon after it chills. Allow yourself to indulge, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Almond Custard with Almond Crust

By Angie Gouchenour

2 Servings

Ingredients

Custard

1 cup whole milk

2 tsp corn starch

2 Tablespoons Sugar. 2.0

2 egg yolks

½ cap almond flavoring (About 1/8 teaspoon)

Crust

½ cup almond meal

1 teaspoon Sugar 2.0

1 Tablespoon butter – softened

Directions

In a small sauce pan combine the corn starch with a small amount of milk to create a slurry and get rid of any lumps; then pour in the rest of the milk and Sugar 2.0

Stir frequently until the mixture comes to a boil

Take a small amount of hot liquid and add it to the egg yolks so you don’t get scrambled eggs

Drizzle the egg mixture stirring constantly into the hot milk

Allow to boil and thicken for a couple of minutes

Remove from the heat and pop it in the fridge so it can cool

Preheat the oven to 320’f

In a bowl combine the almond meal and Sugar 2.0 with the butter until crumbly

Press the almond and butter mixture firmly into a 10-ounce ramekin

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes

Allow both the crust and custard to cool before spooning the custard into the crust

Pop it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes and then enjoy!