Thick, silky, creamy and luxurious vanilla custard. I'm going to show you how to make it lump-free, without custard powder.
The ultimate accompaniment to all sponge cakes, fruit pies and crumbles!
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When I was little, Sunday afternoons would always be spent having tea at my nana and grandad's house with all of the family. My grandad was a keen and adventurous baker and would have apple crumbles, rhubarb crumbles, scones and trifle on the table without fail.
He could always be relied upon to have a big jug of homemade custard, in a Pyrex jug, ready for us all to devour.
This is the famous custard, done the proper way, with lots for everyone, because who doesn't love custard...
📋 What do we need?
- Cream Always use double (heavy) cream for your custard, this will ensure the custard is luscious and won't split
- Milk Full fat (whole) milk again for that creamy taste
- Vanilla Extract This will add the essential flavour to your custard, or you can use vanilla essence, vanilla paste or the seeds from a vanilla pod
- Eggs I used large eggs, but if you don't have large, just add an extra yolk to the recipe
🔪 How to make Custard
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Heat the cream and milk in a pan over a gentle heat.
- In a jug, mix the egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Pour the hot cream/ milk over the egg mixture, slowly, whilst stirring constantly, then pour back into the pan and heat gently while stirring with the whist, until thick and creamy.
👩🍳PRO TIP Try pushing fresh raspberries through a sieve and adding to the custard for a trip down memory lane and that wonderful school 'pink custard'
Thick, creamy and goes with so many desserts and cakes, and not forgetting the old favourite, bananas and custard 😋
What's your favourite thing to serve with custard?
Mine has to be the good old sticky toffee pud!
How to make custard
Ingredients
- 180 ml (¾ cup) double (heavy) cream
- 180 ml (¾ cup) whole milk (full fat milk)
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs
- 2 tsp cornflour - (cornstarch if you're in the US)
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the cream and milk in a pan until bubbles just start to rise at the edge of the pan (don't boil it).
- In a jug, mix the egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla extract.
- When the cream is hot, pour into the egg mixture in a thin stream whilst stirring (note: stirring, not whisking fast!) with a hand whisk (don’t pour in the milk all at once or it will scramble the eggs).
- Once mixed together, pour back into the pan and continue to stir the custard with a whisk over a medium heat until it thickens.
- If it gets too thick, add a splash of cream.
- Turn off the heat and serve.
✎ Notes
BUT!
If you do end up with any lumps, simply pour the custard through a sieve. Can I make it ahead? Yes, cover with a piece of clingfilm (so it's touching the whole of the top layer of custard), so you don't get a skin on the top, then refrigerate for up to two days.
Reheat, in a pan, stirring constantly, until piping hot. Can I freeze it? Honestly? it can be a bit hit and miss, and is likely to split, so I don't recommend freezing homemade custard.
However, you can freeze the excess egg whites to use another day. Ingredient swaps
- Add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder along with the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour to make chocolate custard.
- Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract for a lovely vanilla-almond flavour (works great when served with sponge recipes).
Nutrition
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Hilary says
I love custard but my husband will not touch it unless I make caramel custard. To to me it is a treat whenever we eat out. Thank you for this recipe
John Marshall says
Sticky toffee pudding should be served with butterscotch sauce .......always!
Christine says
Delicious, I usually reach for a tin of custard to accompany our Sunday dessert, but decided to give homemade a try. Was much easier than I thought and so delicious. Will definitely be making this again😋