There is something inspiring about currants. They're practically rubies in berry form, and they are a lot bossier in flavor than you would gather from just an initial glance.
Just like rubies, currants are rare.
When you happen upon some at a farmer's market, you best buy them without thinking too much and worry about what you're going to make with your new gems at a later time.
I stopped by our neighborhood farmer's market on my way to a coffee shop yesterday, and I stumbled upon a berry stand with everything from gooseberries to tiny strawberries to currants and back again. Hauling 5 freshly purchased zucchini, some beets who packed plenty of dirt in their roots, and 4 knobby onions (seriously, what is a knobby onion?), I figured all I needed to round out my pack were some currants... and perhaps a pear tree.
I've seen currants at plenty of Chicago farmer's markets in the past, but I'd never actually purchased them because I was intimidated by the little things. If you've never had fresh currants before, they pack a flavorful but tart bite. To mellow their tartness and showcase their flavor, they need to be paired against something sweet and indulgent. It just so happened that I had been playing around with a recipe for dairy-free custard, and I figured currants might actually be the perfect thing to balance out the richness of it.
And so I took a leap of fruit stand faith, and I bought those currants, and I dropped them like they were tart into this decadent but graceful custard.
Coconut milk takes the place of the cream that typically serves as the foundation in this dairy-free custard. Vanilla bean caviar {those little flecks of flavor within the vanilla bean} infuses the custard with warmth and depth while the cardamom blankets it in an intoxicating floral aroma. Best yet, those tart little rubies break through the creaminess to add harmony to a dessert that has the propensity to get carried away with its wealth.
This is a dessert for summer days and summer nights.
- 1 ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk (about 1 14-ounce can)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 4 egg yolks, whisked
- 1 cup red currants
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Begin by splitting the vanilla bean lengthwise. Use the back of a knife to scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean.
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add coconut milk, sugar, vanilla bean pod and seeds, and cardamom. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and then remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Discard vanilla bean pod.
- Add the egg yolks to a mixing bowl. Slowly pour warm coconut mixture into the egg yolks as you whisk.
- Pour ¼ cup currants the bottoms of four ramekins.
- Pour the custard mixture over the currants.
- Pour boiling water into a baking dish until water is about 1-inch deep.
- Carefully place the ramekins in the baking dish, being careful not to splash water into them as you do so.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until mixture has set.
- Cool completely in refrigerator and serve with a garnish of currants.
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