Making Custards and Egg-Based Desserts Safely

Custards and egg-based desserts are high-risk because eggs can carry Salmonella, and dishes like creme brulee, tiramisu, mousse and trifle are often lightly cooked or use raw egg. To serve them safely, cook custard bases to a safe temperature, cool them quickly through the danger zone (5-60C) using two-stage cooling, hold them at 5C or below, and manage raw-egg dishes with clean, cracked-to-order eggs or a pasteurised alternative. Key takeaways: Eggs are the main hazard in custards and egg-based desserts because they can carry Salmonella, so treat every egg dish as high-risk.. Cook custard bases thoroughly, then cool fast using two-stage cooling (60C to 21C within 2 hours, then 21C to 5C within a further 4 hours).. Hold finished custards and desserts at 5C or below, and apply the 2-hour/4-hour rule to any time they spend in the danger zone (5-60C).. For raw or lightly cooked egg dishes like tiramisu and mousse, use clean intact eggs cracked to order, or switch to pasteurised egg products to reduce Salmonella risk.. Declare egg and any other allergens under the labelling requirements, and separate egg-handling from ready-to-eat work to prevent cross-contamination.. Why egg-based desserts are high-risk Custards, creme brulee, creme patissiere, tiramisu, mousses, trifles and homemade ice cream all rely on eggs, and eggs can carry Salmonella on the shell and, occasionally, inside. When a dessert is served raw, lightly cooked or held warm for too long, surviving bacteria can multiply to levels that cause illness. Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness linked to egg dishes, and desserts are especially risky because they are often made ahead in large batches, cooled slowly and served cold without any further cooking step to kill bacteria. The risk is highest when raw or lightly cooked egg is combined with a moist, protein-rich, low-acid mixture and held at room temperature. That describes most custard-based desserts exactly. Because these foods support bacterial growth, the Food Standards Code treats them as potentially hazardous, which means they must be kept under temperature control unless a documented process keeps them safe another way. Treat every egg dessert as high-risk from the moment eggs are cracked through to service. The controls that matter most are thorough cooking where possible, rapid cooling, cold holding at 5C or below, and careful handling of any raw-egg component. Buying, storing and cracking eggs safely Start with clean, uncracked eggs from a reputable supplier. Reject eggs that are dirty, cracked or leaking, because a damaged shell lets bacteria reach the contents. Store eggs under refrigeration at 5C or below to slow any growth, keep them in their original cartons away from strong odours, and rotate stock so older eggs are used first. How you crack and handle eggs matters as much as how you store them. Do not wash eggs yourself, as this can draw bacteria through the shell; rely on the supplier's handling instead. Crack eggs into a separate bowl rather than directly into the mix so a bad egg does not spoil a whole batch, and avoid separating yolks using the shell edges or your hands where the shell can contaminate the contents. Buy clean, intact eggs and reject any that are cracked, dirty or leaking.. Keep eggs refrigerated at 5C or below and use them within their date marking.. Crack into a separate container and check each egg before adding it to the batch.. Wash and sanitise hands, bowls and whisks after handling raw egg and before touching ready-to-eat items.. Never top up an old batch of egg mix with a fresh one; make and date each batch separately.. Cooking custard bases to a safe temperature Cooking is the most reliable control you have. Where a recipe allows it, heat the custard base until it reaches a safe core temperature that destroys Salmonella. A core temperature of 75C is a widely used benchmark for cooking potentially hazardous foods, and reaching a high enough temperature for long enough is what makes a custard safe rather than simply set. Stirred custards such as creme anglaise and creme patissiere thicken at lower temperatures than the safety benchmark, which is why they are a common risk point. Use a probe thermometer rather than judging by appearance, cook to your target, and calibrate and sanitise the probe between uses. If a recipe deliberately keeps the base below a bacteria-killing temperature for texture, treat the finished dessert as a raw-egg product and apply the raw-egg controls described below. Baked custards like creme brulee and creme caramel are cooked in the oven, but oven time is not a guarantee of a safe core temperature in the centre of a deep dish. Check the thickest part with a probe, and remember that carry-over cooking and standing time also affect the result. Record your cook temperatures if you rely on cooking as a critical control in your food safety program. Cooling custards quickly and correctly Slow cooling is where many egg desserts become unsafe. A large pot of hot custard left on the bench cools through the danger zone (5-60C) slowly, giving any surviving bacteria hours to multiply. The Food Standards Code sets a two-stage cooling standard for cooked potentially hazardous food: cool from 60C to 21C within two hours, then from 21C to 5C within a further four hours. To hit those targets, help the custard lose heat fast. Divide it into shallow containers rather than one deep pot, stir it periodically, and use an ice bath or blast chiller. Do not cover hot custard and place it straight into a busy fridge, as it will warm surrounding food and cool too slowly itself. Only cover and store once it is cool enough not to raise the fridge temperature. Split hot custard into shallow, wide containers to increase surface area.. Use an ice bath or blast chiller and stir to speed cooling.. Check with a probe that 60C to 21C happens within 2 hours and 21C to 5C within a further 4 hours.. Do not leave custard at room temperature to cool; time in the danger zone adds up.. Label each batch with the date and time so you can track its life.. Holding, serving and the 2-hour/4-hour rule Once cooled, hold custards and egg desserts at 5C or below right up to service, and return them to the fridge promptly after plating. If a dessert is served warm, keep it at 60C or above. The danger zone between 5C and 60C is where bacteria multiply fastest, so the goal is to minimise the total time any dessert spends there. For food that does sit out, apply the 2-hour/4-hour rule to cold potentially hazardous foods that come out of temperature control. Under two hours in the danger zone, the food can be refrigerated again and used. Between two and four hours, use it or serve it but do not put it back in the fridge. Beyond four hours in total, discard it. Track the cumulative time across the whole day, not just the current display session. Display desserts in a chilled cabinet, keep portions small so stock turns over, and avoid topping up a display tray with fresh product on top of older product. Discard leftovers that have been out too long rather than reusing them the next day. Managing raw and lightly cooked egg dishes Some classic desserts, including tiramisu, chocolate mousse, some cheesecakes, egg-nog and homemade mayonnaise-style creams, use raw or barely cooked egg for texture. Because there is no cooking step to kill Salmonella, these need extra care. The most effective control is to use a pasteurised egg product, which has been heat-treated to reduce Salmonella while staying liquid, so you keep the texture without the raw-egg risk. If you use fresh shell eggs raw, crack them to order from clean, intact eggs, make small batches, and keep the mixture cold and covered. Never hold raw-egg mixtures in the danger zone, and be aware that acidic ingredients and alcohol do not reliably make a raw-egg dessert safe. Vulnerable customers, including the elderly, pregnant people, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system, are more susceptible to serious illness, so a pasteurised alternative is the safer choice for dishes served to the public. Prefer pasteurised egg products for any dessert that is not fully cooked.. If using raw shell eggs, crack to order, make small batches and keep them cold.. Do not assume alcohol, sugar or acid makes a raw-egg dessert safe.. Consider a pasteurised or fully cooked version for menus serving vulnerable groups.. Allergens and cross-contamination Egg is one of the declared allergens that must be identified, and dairy, wheat, tree nuts, soy and others often appear in the same desserts. Under the allergen labelling requirements, declare these allergens accurately, and make sure front-of-house staff can answer allergen questions correctly for dishes made on site. Keep recipe records so the information you give customers matches what is actually in the dessert. Cross-contamination is the other risk to manage. Raw egg can transfer Salmonella to ready-to-eat foods through hands, utensils, cloths and surfaces. Separate raw-egg handling from finishing and plating, use clean and sanitised equipment, and wash hands thoroughly after cracking eggs. Store desserts covered and above raw ingredients in the fridge to prevent drips, and keep allergen-free preparations separated to avoid unintended contact. Checklist: Eggs are clean, intact and stored at 5C or below. Hands, bowls and utensils sanitised before and after handling raw egg. Custard base cooked to a safe core temperature and probe-checked. Two-stage cooling met: 60C to 21C in 2 hours, 21C to 5C in 4 more. Finished desserts held at 5C or below and labelled with date and time. Raw-egg dishes use pasteurised egg or clean cracked-to-order eggs. Egg and other allergens declared and communicable to customers. 2-hour/4-hour rule tracked for any display or service time. Common mistakes: Cooling a large pot of hot custard slowly on the bench instead of using shallow containers and an ice bath.. Judging doneness by how thick or set the custard looks rather than checking the core temperature with a probe.. Assuming alcohol, sugar or acid makes a raw-egg tiramisu or mousse safe from Salmonella.. Topping up a display tray with fresh dessert on top of older product so old stock never clears.. Handling raw egg and then plating ready-to-eat desserts without washing hands and changing utensils.. Forgetting to declare egg or dairy as allergens, or giving customers information that does not match the recipe..