Cooking with Custard

Homemade Custard

Baked

Popular either as a savoury custard such as quiches, with its numerous choices of fillings, or as a sweet custard such as créme caramel and bread and butter pudding.

Baked custards are usually cooked in a ‘bain marie’, or water bath. A water bath helps slow the transfer of the heat from the oven to the custard mixture and helps prevent curdling.

Stirred

Usually sweet, they are either cooked on the stove top or in a double boiler (bowl over a saucepan of boiling water). The custard is then stirred until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Great care needs to be taken to ensure the mixture does not overheat, causing a curdle appearance.

The Different Types of Stirred Custard

Powdered Custard

Made from maize and wheat starches, sugar, salt, flavours and colours, it is combined with sugar and milk and stirred over heat until thickened. Unlike egg custards that thicken from the coagulation of egg proteins, powdered custard is thickened as the starch particles expand when moistened and heated.

Egg Custard

Usually consists of 1 egg, 1 cup milk and 2 tablespoons sugar. However if more eggs are added (usually just the yolks) or if cream is substituted for the milk, the thicker and richer the custard will be.

Pastry Cream (Crème Patissiere)

Pastry cream is made from eggs, sugar, milk and flour. However the quantities vary depending on the usage whether a filling for tarts, flans or éclairs. The addition of flour to the custard gives it a firmer consistency and prevents curdling.

Custards made with custard powder or starch is a luscious, yet low in fat treat, when made with low fat milk.

Great recipe ideas are listed in the Recipe section of this website.  For axample:

• Little Custard Tarts
• Custard Fondue
• Rhubard Custard Teacake (image on right).