Place milk, vanilla extract, and butter in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until simmering; remove from heat before it comes to a boil.
Whisk eggs, sugar, and cornstarch together in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
Set the saucepan back over low heat. Pour in egg mixture slowly, whisking constantly, until custard thickens enough to coat the bottom of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve warm or transfer custard into a large bowl, cover, and allow to cool before chilling.
This old-fashioned custard, made with simple ingredients you likely already have on hand, is the perfect sweet treat to whip up on a whim.
What Is Custard?
Custard is a decadent dessert made with eggs, milk, and sugar. Eggs are responsible for custard's thick and velvety texture, but some recipes (such as this one) call for thickeners such as cornstarch or arrowroot for extra richess.
How to Make Custard
You'll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the recipe above, but let's go over the basics:
What Is Custard Made Of?
These are the basic ingredients you'll need to make this homemade custard recipe:
Milk: This decadent custard starts with four cups of milk.
Butter: A tablespoon of butter lends richness.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the custard.
Eggs: Four eggs ensure a creamy, thick, and velvety texture.
Sugar: Sweeten things up with ½ cup of white sugar.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the custard.
How to Make Homemade Custard
Here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make old-fashioned egg custard:
Bring the first three ingredients to a simmer. Remove from heat before it boils.
Whisk the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
Over low heat, slowly whisk the egg mixture into the milk mixture.
Cook’s Note
Add up to ¼ cup more sugar for a very sweet custard.
Crushed pineapple or mashed banana mixed in tastes great.
How to Store Custard
Allow the custard to cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat gently on the stove.
Can You Freeze Custard?
Yes, you can freeze custard for up to three months. However, it's important to note that the texture will likely change during the freezing and thawing process.
"This is a very good recipe," according to one Allrecipes community member. "I like the fact that we don't have to separate the yolk from the white. Using the whole egg is great. I followed the instructions and everyone liked it."
"Tip: Pour in the egg mixture in a very thin stream to start or pour a very small amount of the warm milk into the eggs to equalize the temp, then slowly add the eggs to the hot milk," advisesOlive'sMom.
"I made this recipe EXACTLY as provided," saysAJ Cole. "The result was phenomenal! My wife likes it less sweet, for her it was perfect as-is. I topped with cinnamon-sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth. I also saved out a small amount and added orange flavoring."
There are three main varieties of custard: baked custard, stirred custard, and steamed custard. The first two are both popular in Western cuisine. Baked custard is typically firmer and made with whole eggs, while stirred custards can be much runnier and often only contain the yolks.
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.
While most custard and pudding recipes both typically call for eggs, the main difference is that pudding uses a starch for thickening, whereas custard's thickening agent is the egg itself (or egg yolk, in most instances). Custard's texture also tends to be firmer than pudding.
Most home cooks refer to frozen custard as ice cream, which is why many of our recipes at the Kitchn are also called ice cream, even though they contain egg yolks. Check out some of our favorite egg-based ice cream (aka custard) recipes.
The main difference between the two is that creme brulee is topped with a layer of sugar that caramelizes under a broiler or torch, resulting in a crunchy, burnt sugar topping. Egg custard does not have this additional layer of sugar, but some recipes call for a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon.
Custard is a decadent dessert made with eggs, milk, and sugar. Eggs are responsible for custard's thick and velvety texture, but some recipes (such as this one) call for thickeners such as cornstarch or arrowroot for extra richess.
If you use a recipe for the wrong type of custard, you might be unhappy with the results. Then, there are all the ways that you can curdle, split, or burn your custard, such as adding the eggs too quickly, failing to mix starches through properly, and not stirring custards constantly.
Brands vary, but vanilla ice-cream typically has about 10 per cent more calories than custard, as well as twice the saturated fat, less protein and half the calcium and potassium. However, ice-cream usually has less sugar and salt, too.
Egg custard is a variation on cream custard. Egg custurd is a tick rich creamy sweet or savory dessert, made mixtures of eggs or egg yolks, milk or cream, flavorings (vanilla, nutmeg, etc.) and optionally, sweeteners (sugar, honey). Basic custards are thickened and set by eggs alone.
Flan can refer to two different things: either a baked custard dessert topped with caramel similar to the French crème caramel, or a tart-like sweet pastry with a filling called a fruit flan.
American puddings are closer to what the Brits would call "custard." A British pudding is a dish, savory or sweet, that's cooked by being boiled or steamed in something: a dish, a piece of cloth, or even animal intestine.
The methodology and most of the ingredients are the same, except pastry cream incorporates flour or cornstarch and therefore needs to be boiled. This results in a much, much thicker custard. Crème anglaise on the other hand, is thickened only with egg yolks resulting in a thinner, silkier, more pourable sauce.
Vanilla pastry cream is the smooth, silky, vanilla-scented custard that oozes out of so many classic desserts. Also called crème pâtissière and creme pat, this rich filling is essentially vanilla custard thickened with cornstarch to make it firm.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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