Eclipse Custard with Blood Orange Swirl

By Benjamin Moore Eubank

A vanilla bean custard base is swirled with a reduced blood orange curd to mimic the moon's shift from pale silver-white to deep coppery red, then finished with smoked caramel and cocoa nibs for a starry, charred contrast. It is baked gently in a water bath and served chilled in small glass jars.

Yield: 4 servings · Prep: 25 min · Cook: 35 min · Total: 60 min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 2 tablespoons smoked sea salt caramel sauce, for drizzling
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
• 1/2 cup fresh blood orange juice
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs, for garnish

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (325°F) and set a kettle of water to boil for a water bath.
2. In a saucepan, warm the heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt, and scraped vanilla bean (pod and seeds) over medium heat until steaming but not boiling; remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes, then discard the pod.
3. In a separate saucepan, combine the blood orange juice, zest, and cornstarch; whisk over medium heat until thickened into a glossy curd, about 3 minutes, then whisk in the butter until glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then slowly stream in the warm cream mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
5. Divide the custard base among 4 small glass jars or ramekins, filling about two-thirds full.
6. Spoon a tablespoon of the blood orange curd into the center of each jar and swirl gently with a toothpick to create a marbled, moon-like pattern of pale and copper tones.
7. Place the jars in a deep baking dish, pour boiling water halfway up the sides of the jars, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the custards are just set with a slight jiggle in the center.
8. Remove from the water bath and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
9. Before serving, drizzle each custard with smoked sea salt caramel sauce and scatter cocoa nibs on top to resemble scattered stars.