stirred continuously during its cooking. Then it will not set nor
thicken as does baked custard, even though the proportion of eggs and
milk may be higher.

[Illustration: FIG. 2, Testing doneness of soft custard with spoon.]

The test for soft custard, which is exactly opposite from that for baked
custard, is shown in Fig. 2. As soon as the custard mixture lightly
coats a spoon it is done. Then it should be removed from the fire and
the inner part of the double boiler removed from the outer part to avoid
the application of any more heat. If too much heat has been applied or
the custard has been cooked too long, the result will be a curdled mass.
As soon as this is observed, the custard should be removed from the hot
water, placed at once into a pan of cold water, and beaten vigorously
with a rotary egg beater. To improve it further, it may be poured
through a fine wire sieve or strainer. Unless the curding has gone too
far or the egg has been cooked a great deal too long, this treatment
will produce a very decided improvement in the custard and possibly
bring it to a normal condition.

SOFT CUSTARD
(Sufficient to Serve Four)

1 pt. milk
3 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. lemon extract