A quick and easy Vanilla Custard recipe that’s made with simple ingredients that comes together in minutes. Perfect as a delicious dessert on it’s own, served with fresh fruit or as an accompaniment to your favourite Christmas Pudding.

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Making your own creamy custard is so much easier than you think! Far superior to any packet mix or carton of custard, it’s made with just 6 basic ingredients. There's no need any special equipment, and just like a pastry crème or crème anglaise, it’s made with fresh egg yolks, giving you that rich, velvety texture and beautiful rich flavour. And the leftover egg whites? Save those for your Pavlova, Meringues or Macarons! Especially handy at Christmas, when you’re making several desserts and need an easy recipe to make a delicious, foolproof custard.

Why You Will Love This Homemade Custard Recipe

It’s so much better than packet custard, but homemade custard is just as easy to make
Everything you need, you will most likely already have!
It uses up the yolks leftover from making your Christmas Pavlova
So adaptable, this custard can be used in so many other desserts -as a cake filling, layered between a Sponge Cake or Tiramisu, or on top of your favourite Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

Whole milk: don’t even thick of using low fat here (sorry!)
Heavy cream: see above
Egg yolks: preferably free range -I use extra large eggs
Cornflour: known as corn starch, to thicken the custard
Caster sugar: to sweeten
Vanilla paste: use at your own discretion, for maximum flavour! And use the best quality vanilla bean paste you can find

Substitutions and Additions

Full fat milk and cream: gives this custard it’s rich, velvety texture and taste, so please don’t use low fat -the results just won’t be the same
Brandy: swirl a little through the custard at the end, for a more complex and adult flavour
Vanilla paste: you can absolutely use vanilla extract instead, or even real vanilla beans that have been scraped and heated with the milk and cream. Just remove the vanilla pod before pouring the milk mixture over the yolk mixture.

Step by Step Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour, then set aside
Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan and bring it to almost boiling, over medium heat
In a steady stream, slowly add the hot milk and cream to the yolk mixture, while whisking the yolk mixture
Return the custard to the saucepan and continue to whisk over medium-low heat, until it starts to thicken. Don’t let it come to a boil
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir through vanilla
Use straight away. If you’re not using it straight away, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the custard (this will stop the custard from forming a skin) and store in the fridge. Custard will thicken as it cools, but thin out again when reheated.

Tips and Tricks:

Place a rubber mat or tea towel under your bowl to stop it from moving around while you’re adding the hot milk mixture
Make sure you’re reaching the corners of your saucepan as you whisk, to avoid any burn spots

Re Heating Instructions:

This delicious custard can be re heated in the microwave. When you’re ready to serve it, pop it in the microwave for a minute or 2, then give it a quick whisk to smooth it out

traditional christmas pudding dusted with icing sugar and sitting on a pedestal cake stand. A gold bird sits on top

Serving Suggestions

There's so many great ways to enjoy this delicious homemade Vanilla Custard:

At Christmas: delicious alongside your Christmas Pudding
Puddings: top your Chocolate Pudding with it -it’s amazing!
Cake Filling: turn it into a thick pastry cream by adding a little more corn flour and use it between a layer cake, or in cupcakes
With fruit: stir through some sliced bananas or top with fresh berries, for a quick and easy dessert
Pastry filling: just like a crème pâtissière, this custard can be used to fill cream puffs or eclairs
Trifle or Tiramisu: layer it in individual cups and make a beautiful and simple dessert

Storage

Refrigerate: vanilla custard will store well in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 1 week

This is such a quick and easy homemade vanilla custard recipe, that can be used in so many ways. I hope you love it as much as we do!

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