When most of us think of ways to use eggs, we tend to think of savoury dishes like omelettes or fried breakfast. However, there are many sweet dishes that also heavily incorporate eggs. If you’ve got some spare eggs to use up, why not consider one of these 8 dessert options?
Vanilla custard
Vanilla custard is typically made from milk or cream, which is then thickened and given its distinct yellow colour by adding egg yolks. Sugar and vanilla extract is then added to sweeten it. Making custard at home is very easy as this custard recipe outlines. While you can eat custard on its own (the Teletubbies do), most people prefer to serve it with another dessert (such as a pie, a sponge or a strudel). Of course, egg custard doesn’t have to just contain vanilla and can incorporate other flavourings too.
Custard tarts
Once you know how to make custard, you can try your hand at custard tarts. These consist of a pastry crust and egg custard filling. Custard tarts are typically cupcake-sized, however you can make a larger custard pie if you’d prefer.
Flan
Flans consist of egg custard which is baked to help it set and coated in caramel. There are variations of this dessert across Europe. Creme caramel or Mexican flan is one variation that is cooked upside down. There are lots of online recipes that can teach you how to make a flan like this.
Crème brulee
Creme brulee is a bit like a flan in that it is made from baked egg custard. However, it has a layer of hardened caramelised sugar on the top. This hardened sugar topping can be hard to pull off – many chefs cheat and use a mini blowtorch. However, you can achieve this effect without one.
Eclairs
Consisting of a pastry casing and egg custard filling, eclairs are a tasty dessert favourite that are surprisingly simple to make. Eclairs are often served coated in chocolate. You can find a recipe here to learn how to make eclairs.
Meringue
While yolk is used to make custard, egg whites can be used to make meringue. You only really need two ingredients to make meringue – sugar and egg whites. However, you can also add a touch of lemon for acidity or use flour to help the meringue bind. Visit this page to find out how to make meringue.
Pavlova
Once you can bake meringue, you can then attempt homemade pavlova. This is essentially a giant meringue topped in cream and fruit. Raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are some of the most common fruits that are added.
Eggnog cheesecake
Love eggnog? Love cheesecake? If so, a unique Christmas dessert worth trying is eggnog cheesecake. This is achieved by blending eggnog into the cheesecakes cream cheese filling. You can make your own eggnog mixture by blending eggs, nutmeg and a spirit such as rum or bourbon. It’s up to you as to how boozy you want to make it.