Pear custard

 

Having perused the baby food section of the supermarket, and having read the ingredient lists on all the “baby yoghurts” and “baby’s first custards” I decided that in order to save my little darlings’ new teeth (since they have given us so much joy!!) I would have to make my own… One mini tub of baby custard has 5g of sugar in it, not to mention all the other additives. So, like my mum before me, Milla will be getting homemade stuff.  One day she will thank me! She happily eats plain yoghurt mixed with mashed banana, so the next dessert to try was custard.

You’ll need to wait until your baby is ready to eat egg yolk for this recipe.  As usual, there is conflicting advice out there, but we chose to start small amounts of egg yolk now, since Milla is nearly 8 months old, and we have no history of allergy in either of our families, with the exception of kiwi fruit!  Separate the yolk from the white of the egg, or use the white if your baby is old enough (generally 10 – 11 months+), it is the white of the egg that is more of an allergy risk.

There is no sugar in this recipe, and I really don’t think it needs it. The sweetness of the pear is more than enough. You could substitute apple, berries, mango… whatever fruit your baby is eating.

Pear Custard

1/2 cup pear puree

1/2 cup milk

1 egg yolk

cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

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Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Pour the puree in to the base of a small ramekin.

Whisk together the egg yolk and milk, and gently pour over the pear. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.

Place the ramekin in to a larger tin (I used a small cake tin) and pour hot water in to the tin so that it comes halfway up the side of the ramekin.  Place in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the egg is set (but it will still be quite wobbly)

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This should be enough for two baby serves, unless you hoe in to it yourself, as I have just done…

Homemade Rusks

I have been a bit busy lately to post, but now that Milla is eating a bigger variety of foods, having reached nearly 8 months, I am inspired again! The world of simple fruit and vegie mush and finger food has expanded to include wheat and oats, chicken, lamb and some dairy.  WOOO HOOO! We are yet to find something that she won’t eat, although her food of choice lately has been the remote controls. They have teeth marks to prove it.

In a futile effort to save the remote, I baked some rusks for her. We had tried two commercially available ones (Heinz and Bellamy’s), and I figured it would be super easy and cheap to make something myself that was just as good. Most of it ends up a pile of soggy little crumbs on the floor anyhow…

These rusks are really easy. Three ingredients: flour, butter, molasses (and water). The molasses is optional, but since its a very high source of iron, and since I had some in the cupboard, I put it in.

Milla has her two bottom teeth, and is about to cut her top two. I can just see them lurking below the gums.  Hopefully these rusks will do the trick…

Rusks

• 2  cups plain wholemeal flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup water or milk
• 1 teaspoon molasses (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

Combine flour and butter in a food processor so it forms a crumbly mix.  Add the molasses, and then slowly add enough water so the mixture forms a dough.

Roll the dough into small sausage shapes, and place on a tray lined with baking paper.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning halfway to crisp up both sides.

Allow to cool, then store in airtight container.