Official Fish Fingers and Custard Day - Dr. Who's 'The Eleventh Hour'

To celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of "The Eleventh Hour" and Matt Smith's famous fish fingers and custard scene, the 3rd of April will now be known as "Official Fish Fingers and Custard Day".
Devin suggested we celebrate and I hemmed and hawed knowing it takes forever to make, totally worth it but time consuming in it's creation. Here he is slurping it down Smith style.

I made chips to go with our fish fingers and custard. I used freshly rendered tallow that I picked up from Plato Dale Farms to fry everything up in. Rough cut potatoes and fry until golden brown, about ten minutes per batch.

I didn't have any cod or grouper, just tilapia, which surprisingly held up well for being roughly battered and fried. I cut the fish into 2x4 inch pieces. The batter was 2 tbls stale beer, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup sour cream (or one egg), 1/2 cup heavy cream or buttermilk. Mix well. It should be a very thick batter.

Dredge in the batter and fry four to five pieces at a time. 3 minutes on one side and then 1 minute on the other side, pull it when it stops steaming. Drain well before serving.




The custard is exhausting. I don't mean "Oh I didn't know it was going to involve stirring." I mean, "I didn't know my arm was going to fall off whisking this much and I'm still no where finished making this?!" No, you can not use a plug in beater for this recipe.

1 cup milk
1/2 cup double or heavy cream
2 tbls powdered sugar (the kind with cornstarch)
1 vanilla pod
3 egg yolks

Split the vanilla pod lengthways and use the end of a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Place the pod and the seeds in a small saucepan, along with the cream. Simmer. Whisk the milk into the cream.

While the cream is heating, whisk the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar together in a medium bowl using a large whisk.

Remove the vanilla pod from the hot cream. Then, whisk at high speed the egg mixture, adding it very slowly, into hot cream into the bowl.

When it's all in, bring to a boil, never stop whisking. The moment bubbles appear turn the heat all the way down and keep whisking fast until the custard is thick and smooth. If you do overheat it and it looks grainy, don't worry, just transfer it to a jug or bowl and continue to whisk until it becomes smooth again.

Pour the custard into a jug or bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm and leave to cool. To serve it warm later, remove the clingfilm and sit the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.