What is Custard
Custard is a family of pudding-like sauces and desserts that are often made with a mixture of milk, eggs and sugar. Whether you are speaking about pourable sauces like crème anglaise; baked sweets like flan or crème brûlée; thick donut fillings like pastry cream; or even frozen and churned desserts like ice cream – all of them are a type of sweet custard. If you weren’t aware, however, custard can also be made without eggs. Swapping in cornstarch for the egg yolks results in a sauce or pudding that is still nice and thick. And can be enjoyed by anyone with an egg allergy. In addition, you can make a delicious vegan custard sauce, too!
About Crème Anglaise Recipe
To make egg-free vanilla custard, all the ingredients like milk, sugar and cornstarch are mixed and slowly simmered on a low heat till the sauce thickens. The consistency of custard can be made thin or medium or thick by altering the proportions of milk or cornstarch. Making custard without eggs is very easy – you don’t have to worry about tempering the eggs or dealing with the hassle of a double boiler! Just remember to cook the custard sauce mixture on a low heat and stir gently. In place of cornstarch, you can use custard powder which is a sweetened and dyed cornflour mix. Other thickening agent options include rice flour, arrow root flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch. This recipe is very helpful if you do not have custard powder. Custard powder is nothing but cornstarch mixed with a few flavorings, coloring agents and preservatives.
How to Make Vanilla Custard
Preparation
- In a heavy sauce pan take 3 cups milk.
- Add ¼ cup cornstarch. In India we call cornstarch “corn flour” and it is a white colored flour.
- Add 8 tablespoons sugar or add as per taste.
- Next add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ of a vanilla bean, scraped. I have used vanilla bean. If using vanilla essence, then add only ½ teaspoon of it.
- Mix everything and keep the pan on stove top on a low to medium-low heat.
Make Vanilla Custard
- Stir so that all the sugar dissolves. Use a wired whisk for ease of use and best results.
- Simmer on a low to medium-low heat.
- When milk gets hot, stir often so that the vanilla custard mixture does not stick to bottom of pan or form lumps.
- Continue to stir till the custard sauce starts to thicken gradually.
- Make sure to keep to a low to medium-low heat. Do not rush the process. You don’t want a lumpy custard or a browned or blackened custard.
- The sauce will thicken.
- Continue to simmer and stir continuously till the sauce thickens more.
- Continue to whisk and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back side of a spoon.
- Turn the heat off. Place the pan on the kitchen countertop and cover the pan with cotton kitchen towel or napkin. Placing a cotton kitchen towel helps to prevent a layer of skin from forming on top. Let the vanilla custard sauce cool at room temperature before storing in fridge. As the sauce cools, it will thicken even more.
- You can use this custard sauce to make desserts like fruit custard, bread & butter pudding, baked custard, or trifles. You can also use it to jazz up any baked goods by drizzling it on top. Enjoy!
Types of Custard
Custards can be either sweet or savory, though when we think of the word, our mind most often goes to desserts. Examples of savory custards are the wobbly filling of French quiches, delightful bowls of Japanese Chawanmushi, or slices of Swedish Ostakaka or Italian frittatas. In addition to these various savory applications, custards can also be used across the dessert spectrum: as toppings or fillings for other desserts or sweets; as baked goods like flan or cheesecake; as puddings; or even as frozen desserts. Did you know that ice creams are made with custard sauce that is churned and frozen? Here’s a relatively short list of dessert recipes made with custard:
Fruit CustardVanilla Ice CreamBread and Butter PuddingTrifle RecipeCaramel PuddingChocolate PuddingBaked Custards (e.g. flan, crème brûlée)Custard Tart
As you can see, the term “custard” is quite broad. In this particular recipe post, I am referring to a vanilla flavored sauce that is essentially a crème anglaise that I make without eggs.
How to make a vegan custard
For vegan custard, I prefer to use almond milk. Just be sure to simmer it on a very low heat and do not let the almond milk come to a boil, lest it curdle. You can also easily swap in your favorite plant based milk, though you should note that soy and coconut milks will have the most pronounced flavors.
Ingredient Swaps & Variations
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. How to Make Butter Rough Puff Pastry (Easy Foolproof Recipe) All Butter Pie Crust Recipe White Sauce Recipe | Béchamel Sauce (Homemade & Easy) This Vanilla Custard from the archives first published in July 2018 has been updated and republished on February 2023.
title: “Vanilla Custard Cr Me Anglaise Recipe " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-30” author: “Elbert Morris”
What is Custard
Custard is a family of pudding-like sauces and desserts that are often made with a mixture of milk, eggs and sugar. Whether you are speaking about pourable sauces like crème anglaise; baked sweets like flan or crème brûlée; thick donut fillings like pastry cream; or even frozen and churned desserts like ice cream – all of them are a type of sweet custard. If you weren’t aware, however, custard can also be made without eggs. Swapping in cornstarch for the egg yolks results in a sauce or pudding that is still nice and thick. And can be enjoyed by anyone with an egg allergy. In addition, you can make a delicious vegan custard sauce, too!
About Crème Anglaise Recipe
To make egg-free vanilla custard, all the ingredients like milk, sugar and cornstarch are mixed and slowly simmered on a low heat till the sauce thickens. The consistency of custard can be made thin or medium or thick by altering the proportions of milk or cornstarch. Making custard without eggs is very easy – you don’t have to worry about tempering the eggs or dealing with the hassle of a double boiler! Just remember to cook the custard sauce mixture on a low heat and stir gently. In place of cornstarch, you can use custard powder which is a sweetened and dyed cornflour mix. Other thickening agent options include rice flour, arrow root flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch. This recipe is very helpful if you do not have custard powder. Custard powder is nothing but cornstarch mixed with a few flavorings, coloring agents and preservatives.
How to Make Vanilla Custard
Preparation
- In a heavy sauce pan take 3 cups milk.
- Add ¼ cup cornstarch. In India we call cornstarch “corn flour” and it is a white colored flour.
- Add 8 tablespoons sugar or add as per taste.
- Next add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ of a vanilla bean, scraped. I have used vanilla bean. If using vanilla essence, then add only ½ teaspoon of it.
- Mix everything and keep the pan on stove top on a low to medium-low heat.
Make Vanilla Custard
- Stir so that all the sugar dissolves. Use a wired whisk for ease of use and best results.
- Simmer on a low to medium-low heat.
- When milk gets hot, stir often so that the vanilla custard mixture does not stick to bottom of pan or form lumps.
- Continue to stir till the custard sauce starts to thicken gradually.
- Make sure to keep to a low to medium-low heat. Do not rush the process. You don’t want a lumpy custard or a browned or blackened custard.
- The sauce will thicken.
- Continue to simmer and stir continuously till the sauce thickens more.
- Continue to whisk and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back side of a spoon.
- Turn the heat off. Place the pan on the kitchen countertop and cover the pan with cotton kitchen towel or napkin. Placing a cotton kitchen towel helps to prevent a layer of skin from forming on top. Let the vanilla custard sauce cool at room temperature before storing in fridge. As the sauce cools, it will thicken even more.
- You can use this custard sauce to make desserts like fruit custard, bread & butter pudding, baked custard, or trifles. You can also use it to jazz up any baked goods by drizzling it on top. Enjoy!
Types of Custard
Custards can be either sweet or savory, though when we think of the word, our mind most often goes to desserts. Examples of savory custards are the wobbly filling of French quiches, delightful bowls of Japanese Chawanmushi, or slices of Swedish Ostakaka or Italian frittatas. In addition to these various savory applications, custards can also be used across the dessert spectrum: as toppings or fillings for other desserts or sweets; as baked goods like flan or cheesecake; as puddings; or even as frozen desserts. Did you know that ice creams are made with custard sauce that is churned and frozen? Here’s a relatively short list of dessert recipes made with custard:
Fruit CustardVanilla Ice CreamBread and Butter PuddingTrifle RecipeCaramel PuddingChocolate PuddingBaked Custards (e.g. flan, crème brûlée)Custard Tart
As you can see, the term “custard” is quite broad. In this particular recipe post, I am referring to a vanilla flavored sauce that is essentially a crème anglaise that I make without eggs.
How to make a vegan custard
For vegan custard, I prefer to use almond milk. Just be sure to simmer it on a very low heat and do not let the almond milk come to a boil, lest it curdle. You can also easily swap in your favorite plant based milk, though you should note that soy and coconut milks will have the most pronounced flavors.
Ingredient Swaps & Variations
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. How to Make Butter Rough Puff Pastry (Easy Foolproof Recipe) All Butter Pie Crust Recipe White Sauce Recipe | Béchamel Sauce (Homemade & Easy) This Vanilla Custard from the archives first published in July 2018 has been updated and republished on February 2023.
