(curdle), you end up with scrambled eggs. Slow heating and continuous stirring prevents eggs to

coagulate. Continuous stirring ensures, that in no part of the saucepan’s hot surface there is a quick

buildup of heat, that could scramble your eggs. Slow heating also helps to start thickening at a lower

temperature, around 150°F (66°C) that continues through 170°F (77°C). Fast heating delays

thickening until close to or above 170°F (77°C) and leaves too little time for the thickening process.

That invites the danger of curdling.

If you want to play it safe, use a double boiler but that takes much longer. However, with

both sugar and milk with the eggs, the chance for curdling is small, you are fairly safe. Sugar

molecules are large and they tend to interfere with the bonding of the egg molecules (that leads to

curdling). The way milk hinders curdling is that it dilutes the eggs and the egg molecules are simply

not physically close enough in the solution to easily bond. With slow heating and relentless, slow

stirring you are reasonably well-assured to cook flawless custard-like mixtures on direct heat.

You may choose the easy and safe method of baking custard in the oven in a hot water bath

(the French bain marie). The hot water protects the eggs from coagulating by keeping the

temperature no higher than the boiling temperature of water. Under these circumstances your

mixture heats slowly, gradually with a assurance that you will not be serving a sweet omelet.

Serving tips

You can prepare any of these desserts either in individual serving dishes or in one larger

dish from which you portion out each serving. Small, individual servings are always preferable—

they have an air of elegance and personal attention. Either way, it pays to garnish for a dressed-up

look and appeal. The garnish may be simple sprigs of mint, tiny edible flowers or leaves, a dollop of

whipped cream or something intricate—it doesn't matter. The message is to invite the guests' eyes

and entice their taste buds for the anticipated culinary experience.

Serving from a single large serving dish is less attractive for a formal affair. Even when the

serving dish is stunningly decorated, once you start portioning out your creation, the effect is

quickly lost, and individual pieces are not easy to fashion as prettily as you could present a serving

of a pie or a layer cake.

Crêpes

Crêperies are small eating places, common in France but rare in America, where they

feature almost nothing else but crêpes—both sweet and savory. There are dozens of filling choices

in every category, hot and cold, from tart to spicy. The crêpe itself, like bread and tortilla, is neutral

in flavor, and anything edible goes as filling as long as it is not too liquidy that would make the plate

messy and unattractive. When you prepare crêpes as sweets, a small amount of sugar in the batter

gives a pleasing undertone. For savory filling sugar is distracting in crêpes. You may opt for all-

purpose crêpes with just a touch of sweetener in the batter, perfect to wrap either a savory or a sweet

filling.

You make crêpes from a thin pancake batter with no leavening. (The American pancakes are

leavened with baking powder.) A good crêpe must have a pleasant but neutral flavor, should be

sufficiently resilient that you can roll it without cracking and resistant against becoming soggy. That

is all its requirements. The primary ingredients are flour, milk and egg, the flavorings are salt and

sugar. A little added oil helps to avoid sticking during frying.

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