Savoury-sweet pots de crème with gjetost and bay leaf.
I bought a block of Ski Queen gjetost cheese, and I absolutely adore it. I thought it might make an interesting dessert custard, but I wanted to make a savoury dessert custard that showcases the goaty character of gjetost and not just its sweetness. So I’ve paired it with bay leaf and cinnamon.
The custard is loose but thick and pudding-like; it can be scooped but not cut with the spoon; it adheres to the back of the spoon, and the remaining custard in the ramekin deforms when the spoon is lifted away. It’s rich.
Below is the approximate recipe I used.
This recipe is based off a pots de crème recipe I found years ago and have adapted to my style. It uses both whole eggs and egg yolks (most pots de creme recipes use only egg yolk) and only milk (instead milk and cream). I’ve found this combination to be a solid balance of tasty, efficient, and easy: only two egg whites to deal with after, and I don’t have to use cream and milk; but it’s still got a lovely, rich, custardy flavour and texture. With gjetost, it’s unctuous.
I use 3.25% fat lactose-free milk, because I like fat, and because I don’t have the lactase-persistent mutation.
Gjetost amount: I kept tasting the milk-gjetost base and added more cheese until it tasted right. I estimate I used between 150 and 200 g of cheese.
I used 85g of brown sugar, aiming for a “savoury dessert”, so this may not be enough sugar depending on your tastes. The original recipe called for a “scant 1/2 cup” of white sugar. In my adaption I would use 80g white sugar. Switching to brown sugar, which contains more stuff, I increased the weight to 85g.
This recipe yields approximately 6x 5-oz ramekins, if you fill them most of the way full (about 3/4 full) but not to the very top.
2 cups milk
150 - 200g gjetost cheese, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
85g brown sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a saucepan, heat the milk just until boiling, then turn off heat. Add the brown sugar, bay leaves, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir to dissolve sugar. Let the mixture infuse approx 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 300 F and set the oven rack to the middle position. Boil a full kettle of water for the bain-marie.
Bring the milk mixture back to a simmer, stirring. Strain out solids. Stir in the gjetost, simmer and stir until homogenised.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and salt together. Temper: Using a ladle, drizzle approx one-half cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Then whisk this back into the milk mixture, continuing to whisk constantly. Add vanilla extract. This is the custard base.
Strain custard base through a fine mesh sieve into a large heatproof measuring cup. Straining improves the texture by filtering out milk-skin and reducing bubbles; the measuring cup makes it easier to pour, and you can read the volume to figure out how full to fill your ramekins.
Arrange ramekins in a large baking pan. Divide the custard base evenly among the ramekins, but avoid filling them to the very top! Fill the baking pan with the hot water from the kettle, until the water reaches about two-thirds up the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 300F approximately 35-40 minutes. (I like to check on them at 20 minutes and rotate the pan; then check again at 10 minutes; then every 5 minutes.)
How to tell when they’re done: The tops are set, but the middle jiggles when you tap or gently shake the ramekin.
Problems: If the tops are browning, you should cover the entire baking pan loosely with foil (I’ve never run into this problem though). If the custard rises up in the centre, the oven is too hot.
Remove the ramekins from the bain-marie, and let them cool on the counter for at least 30 minutes, or until they can be handled bare-handed. Then cover each ramekin, and chill in the fridge at least 2 hours prior to serving. (Warning: If you cover them too soon, the steam will condense and drip down, leaving puddles on your custard.)
Garnish ideas (optional): A flaky finishing salt; nutmeg; cinnamon; crunchy demerara sugar.
