Boston Custard Bars

Recipes don't always turn out the way that you expect them to. But there is usually a way to save them.

Ingredients:

Blondie base:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Custard layer:
6 tbsps sugar
1  1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 egg yolks
4  1/2 tbsps cornstarch

Ganache: (This part didn't work for me)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp corn syrup

Chocolate Drizzle: (did this instead of ganache, see below)
1/4-1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips 
1/4 tsp vegetable oil


For the blondie layer:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream together the brown sugar, butter and vanilla.
Add the egg then stir in the flour.
Press into a parchment line 8 X 8" baking pan and bake at 350 F for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely.

For the custard layer:
In a saucepan over medium heat combine the milk and 3 tbsps of sugar. Bring just to a boil.  In a small bowl whisk the egg yolks and the other 3 tbsps of sugar and vanilla. Add the cornstarch and mix until smooth, then immediately add 1 cup of the heated milk to the egg yolk mixture, whisking while pouring.

Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan, whisking continuously over medium heat until thickened. This happens pretty quickly.

Cool about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spread the custard evenly over the blondie base then place in the fridge to cool and set completely.

For the ganache: (Here's where things started to go sideways)
In a saucepan bring the heavy cream and syrup just to a boil in the microwave 15-20 seconds. Pour in the chocolate chips and just let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. (Now I should have realized something wasn't right as it was pretty runny.)
Pour over chilled custard layer and return the pan once again to the fridge. (I figured it would be ok)

After a few hours on light touch the ganache appeared to be set. I lifted the whole thing out of the pan using the parchment and proceeded to cut into squares.

They seemed a little goopy and when I picked a square up the "ganache" slipped right off the custard!!! Ugh!
So I used the back of a knife to scrape the chocolate off the tops of the squares.

Into oh-my-God-what-am-I-going-to-do-now mode as I was planning on taking these to a friend's house! 

I melted the chocolate chips and vegetable oil in the microwave about 30 seconds. Then spooned the melted chocolate into a ziplock bag, snipped  a corner and drizzled on the chocolate.

Crisis averted ☺

Although if I had drizzled chocolate on in the first place the custard wouldn't have had the remnants of unset ganache all over it. But I do have to say I was pleased with the consistency of the custard for squares.

Original Recipe: spendwithpennies.com