Homemade Vanilla Custard

The recipe, step by step

Creamy homemade vanilla custard is one of those recipes I come back to again and again. It is wonderfully smooth, rich with vanilla and takes just 10 minutes to make from a handful of simple ingredients.

Yes, powdered custard is convenient, but homemade custard is in a different league. Egg yolks give it natural richness and colour, while equal quantities of milk and double cream create that lovely silky consistency. Add a real vanilla pod or good vanilla bean paste and you have a sauce that can transform even the simplest pudding.

Serve it warm over my Apple Rose Tartlets, Pineapple Tarte Tatin or Apricot Streusel Tart. It is equally good cold with cakes, fruit and other desserts.

I have also included my vegan vanilla custard variation further down, which uses cornflour rather than eggs to create its smooth, creamy texture.

Recipe Highlights

• Ease: Very easy and ready in just 10 minutes.
• Taste: Rich, creamy and full of real vanilla flavour.
• Texture: Smooth, silky and pourable.
• Serving: Delicious hot or cold with puddings, pies, tarts and cakes.
• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking: 5 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes
• Servings: 6

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Vanilla Custard

The biggest difference between homemade custard and something made from a packet is the flavour.

Real egg yolks, cream and vanilla give you a richness and depth that is difficult to reproduce any other way. Despite that, there is nothing complicated about making it.

The main thing to remember is gentle heat once the eggs have been added. You want the custard to thicken gradually, without allowing it to boil.

It is also wonderfully versatile. Serve it warm and pourable with a pudding straight from the oven, or chill it and serve it cold with fruit, cakes or pastries.

And once you have mastered the basic recipe, it is easy to turn it into chocolate, coffee or even a lightly boozy custard.

What’s the Difference Between Custard and Pastry Cream?

Traditional pouring custard, or crème anglaise, is primarily thickened by egg yolks. This gives it a silky, pourable consistency that makes it ideal as a sauce.

Pastry cream, or crème pâtissière, is much thicker because it also contains a starch such as cornflour. That additional thickening allows pastry cream to hold its shape, which is why it works particularly well inside tarts, éclairs, cakes and other pastries.

You can also make this vanilla custard thicker by adding 3 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch to the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Whisk it thoroughly so there are no lumps before tempering the eggs with the hot milk and cream.

Because the starch stabilises the mixture, a cornflour-thickened version can tolerate more heat than traditional egg-only pouring custard and needs sufficient cooking to remove the raw starch taste.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Full-fat milk: Use 250 ml full-fat milk. It forms the base of the custard and keeps the finished sauce lighter than using cream alone.
• Double cream: Use 250 ml double or heavy cream. Combined with the milk, it gives the custard its rich, silky consistency.
• Vanilla: Use 1 vanilla pod or ½ teaspoon vanilla paste. A vanilla pod gives you the seeds and a wonderful natural flavour, while vanilla paste is a particularly convenient alternative.
• Egg yolks: Use 4 medium egg yolks. They add richness, colour and, most importantly, thicken the custard.
• Caster sugar: Use 60 g caster sugar. Its fine texture dissolves easily into the egg yolks.

Nigel recommends

Vanilla Bean Paste

Good vanilla makes a noticeable difference in a simple custard. Vanilla bean paste gives you a rich, concentrated vanilla flavour along with the characteristic little vanilla seeds, without having to prepare a whole pod.

Ingredient

Nielsen Massey

Vanilla Bean Paste

Rich vanilla bean paste with a concentrated vanilla flavour and visible vanilla seeds, ideal for cakes, biscuits, custards, creams and glazes.

Why I recommend it → Shop at Amazon UK

Some retailer links may be affiliate links. Recommendations remain editorially independent.

How to Make Homemade Vanilla Custard

Heat the Milk and Cream

1. Heat the dairy: Pour the 250 ml milk and 250 ml double cream into a medium saucepan and bring them to the boil.

2. Add the vanilla: If using a vanilla pod, slice it lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan. If using ½ teaspoon vanilla paste, add this instead.

Prepare the Egg Yolks

3. Beat the yolks and sugar: Place the 4 medium egg yolks and 60 g caster sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Beat together until the mixture becomes thick and pale.

Temper the Eggs

4. Add some of the hot cream: Once the milk and cream have come to the boil, remove the vanilla pod. Pour approximately one-third of the hot milk mixture into the beaten egg yolks, whisking continuously until thoroughly combined.

Thicken the Custard

5. Return everything to the saucepan: Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cream and continue whisking.

6. Keep whisking: Continue whisking as the custard cooks. This is important because the mixture can catch and burn on the base of the saucepan if it is left unattended.

7. Remove from the heat: Once the custard has thickened, take it off the heat and immediately pour it into a clean bowl. Do not allow the custard to boil after the eggs have been added, or the egg yolks may scramble.

Serve or Cool

8. Cover the custard: If you are not serving it immediately, cover the custard with cling film, pressing it lightly against the surface. This helps prevent a skin from forming.

Serve warm with your favourite dessert or leave it to cool before refrigerating.

Variations

Make a Lighter Custard

For a less rich version, replace some or all of the double cream with additional milk.

You can also fold 125 ml softly whipped cream through completely chilled custard for a lighter, creamier finish.

Make a Thicker Custard

For a substantially thicker custard, add 3 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch to the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

Whisk until completely smooth before gradually adding the hot milk and cream.

This gives the custard a thicker consistency closer to pastry cream or some commercial custards.

Chocolate Custard

Add 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder to the sugar before combining it with the egg yolks.

Alternatively, stir 50 g melted dark chocolate through the hot finished custard.

Coffee Custard

Add 1 tablespoon instant coffee to the milk and cream while they are heating.

This works especially well with chocolate cakes and puddings.

Add a Little Alcohol

Stir ½ tablespoon of your chosen alcohol into the finished custard.

The existing recipe suggests:

• Grand Marnier
• Limoncello
• Malibu
• Brandy
• Rum

Add it once the custard has finished cooking.

Vegan Vanilla Custard

This alternative uses cornflour instead of egg yolks and replaces the dairy with plant-based milk and cream.

It is naturally vegan and can also be gluten-free when all the individual ingredients, particularly the cornflour, are suitable.

Vegan Custard Ingredients

• Cornflour: Use 2 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch to thicken the custard.
• Plant-based milk: Use 250 ml plant-based milk. Coconut, soya, rice or oat milk can be used.
• Dairy-free cream: Use 250 ml dairy-free cream.
• Caster sugar: Use 60 g caster or granulated white sugar.
• Vanilla: Use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla paste.
• Turmeric: Add a pinch of turmeric, if you like, purely to give the custard a warmer yellow colour.

How to Make Vegan Vanilla Custard

1. Make a cornflour paste: Place the 2 tablespoons cornflour in a small bowl. Add enough of the cold plant-based milk to make a completely smooth, pourable paste.

2. Combine the ingredients: Pour the cornflour mixture into a medium saucepan and add the remaining plant-based milk, dairy-free cream, sugar, vanilla and turmeric, if using.

3. Cook the custard: Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir continuously until the custard has thickened.

Nigel’s Recipe Tips

Use Real Vanilla

Vanilla is one of the main flavours here, so quality makes a noticeable difference.

I particularly recommend a vanilla pod or vanilla bean paste because both give the custard those beautiful little vanilla seeds as well as plenty of flavour.

Don’t Boil the Custard Once the Eggs Are Added

This is probably the most important point in the recipe.

The milk and cream are brought to the boil before tempering the egg yolks, but once the egg mixture is returned to the saucepan, do not let the custard boil.

Heat it only until it has thickened sufficiently, then remove it from the heat.

Keep Whisking

Custard can catch on the base of the saucepan quite easily.

Keep the whisk moving while it thickens, paying particular attention to the bottom and edges of the pan.

Add the Hot Milk Gradually

Do not pour all of the boiling milk and cream straight into the egg yolks.

Adding approximately one-third first while whisking continuously gradually brings the temperature of the eggs up before everything is returned to the saucepan.

How to Rescue Slightly Lumpy Custard

If you notice a few small lumps, immediately remove the custard from the heat and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.

Prevent a Skin From Forming

Press cling film directly against the surface of the custard while it cools.

Without this barrier, the exposed surface can form a skin.

Adjust the Sweetness

The WPRM recipe uses 60 g caster sugar.

The existing article notes that sweetness can be adjusted according to taste, although changing the sugar will naturally alter the balance of the finished custard.

Always Mix Cornflour With Cold Liquid

When making the vegan or thicker cornflour versions, mix the cornflour with cold liquid first.

Adding dry cornflour directly to a hot mixture is much more likely to leave you with lumps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Vanilla Custard Be Served Hot or Cold?

Yes.

Serve it hot or warm with puddings, pies and fruit desserts, or chill it completely for serving with cakes and pastries.

Why Did My Custard Scramble?

The most likely cause is excessive heat after the eggs were added.

Once the tempered egg mixture goes back into the saucepan, keep whisking and do not allow the custard to boil.

Why Is My Custard Lumpy?

The eggs may have become too hot, or the mixture may have caught on the saucepan.

Remove it from the heat immediately and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.

How Can I Make Custard Thicker?

The existing recipe suggests adding 3 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch to the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

This creates a substantially thicker custard.

Can I Make Custard Without Eggs?

Yes.

The vegan version above uses 2 tablespoons cornflour as its thickener instead of egg yolks.

Can I Make Custard Without Cream?

The existing article allows a lighter version made with milk rather than cream.

Keep in mind that removing the cream will give you a noticeably less rich custard.

Serve It With

Vanilla custard is especially good with warm fruit desserts, comforting puddings and simple cakes.

Tools You’ll Need

• Medium saucepan
• Medium heatproof mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Sharp knife, if using a vanilla pod
• Fine-mesh sieve
• Digital kitchen scales
• Measuring jug
• Cling film

Storage and Freezing

Storing

Homemade vanilla custard will keep in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.

Transfer it to a clean container or bowl and cover the surface directly with cling film. This prevents a skin forming and also protects the custard from absorbing other flavours from the refrigerator.

After chilling, the custard will become thicker. Give it a quick whisk before serving to restore a smoother consistency.

Freezing

I don’t recommend freezing vanilla custard.

The egg and dairy emulsion can separate as it thaws, leaving the custard grainy or split rather than silky and smooth.

Nutrition

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 292.03 kcal · 15% DV
Total Fat: 23.17 g · 33% DV
Carbohydrates: 13.97 g · 5% DV
Sugars: 13.53 g · 15% DV
Protein: 2.98 g · 6% DV
Sodium: 36.13 mg · 2% DV
Fibre: 0 g · 0% DV

% Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the ingredients, brands and serving size used.

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