Brown sugar baked custard

WARNING: This post may make my mother tell stories about my childhood.

Recently Meryl at Inspired Bites posted this low-fat recipe for a baked custard flavoured with brown sugar and orange that sounded just heavenly. And on my way home yesterday (I went home early feeling dreadful with a cold) I decided that baked custard was exactly what I felt like. Eggy, comforting and not too difficult in my foggy-brained state.

Unfortunately the supermarket didn't have any low fat (or any other kind) of evaporated milk. So I bought double cream. And what began as a fairly virtuous pudding turned into something else entirely.

So I present to you
Brown Sugar and Cointreau Baked Custards (makes 3 or 4)

284ml double cream (it's a pot, a bit bigger than a cup but smaller than an Australian pot of cream)
1/4 cup of dark muscovado sugar (I used 1/2 cup and it was too sweet)
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
finely grated rind of half a large orange
50ml cointreau

Warm the cream, orange zest and cointreau in a pan until it is just coming to the boil, then turn the heat off and infuse for 10 minutes. Beat the egg yolks, whole egg and sugar together well (dark muscovado forms pretty solid lumps, so it does take a bit of work) then add the infused cream and beat well. Pour through a sieve into ramekins. Stand ramekins in a baking dish and pour hot water half way up their sides. Bake in a 140C oven for 25-30 minutes or until mostly set but with a bit of a wobble. Remove ramekins from the baking dish and sit (not in the fridge) for a few hours to cool slowly and set.

I caramelised the zest of the other half of the orange as a garnish. And this morning I will be eating the orange flesh along with the third custard, for a pretty indulgent breakfast. Paul can have the leftover pizza.