Yaya's Leche Nevada

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 4 eggs, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. 1

   Whip the egg whites and 3 tablespoons of sugar to make a merangue with hard peaks.

2. 2

   Boil the milk and 1/2 cups of sugar in a medium sized pot. Make sure the milk does not boil over. Note: We don't like this dessert very sweet in my family, but you may want to use more than 1/2 cup sugar.

3. 3

   Drop the merangue into the boiling milk, tablespoon by tablespoon. The merangue dollops will expand when cooked. Make sure to turn each one over in the milk at least once so that it cookes evenly on all sides. They cook very quickly.

4. 4

   Lift the merangues out of the milk with a slotted spoon and place in a large storage container.

5. 5

   Dissolve the corn starch in a little bit of cold water and pour into the milk/sugar mixture, which should still be over the stove. Stir for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove from heat.

6. 6

   Add egg yolks and vanilla extract, whisking rapidly to avoid clumping as the yolks cook. Pour the custard over the merangues.

7. 7

   Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.