Custard
Ingredients
Instructions
Combine the dry ingredients:
In a medium, heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Whisk in the egg yolks:
Add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is pale and smooth, about 1 minute. If your mixing bowl doesn’t have a non-slip bottom, place the bowl on a damp towel so it doesn’t slide in the next step. Keep your bowl close by the stove.
Bring the milk and cream to a simmer:
In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan over medium-low heat bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching. The milk and cream should just come to a simmer with small bubbles along the edges of the pan. Don’t let it reach a rolling boil.
Temper the egg yolks: As soon as the milk and cream come to a simmer, take the pan off the heat. With one hand, slowly pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture a splash at a time, while whisking constantly with your other hand. The damp towel under the mixing bowl should prevent it from sliding around while whisking.
Cook the custard: Pour the custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the custard begins to simmer and thickens, about 5 minutes. Once it begins to gently bubble, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds longer to cook out the starch.
Whisk in the butter: Remove the custard from the heat. Whisk in the butter until melted and completely incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Strain and chill: Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard. Refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours.
Whisk the custard until smooth before serving.
Notes
Try serving this creamy homemade custard alongside a slice of pound cake, baked apples or apple crisp, fruit cobbler, or simply with fresh fruit like berries or banana slices.
Vanilla custard will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface.
[Lemon Custard Variation]
For a lemon-infused version, you will add lemon zest and juice. The zest is added early to infuse its flavor, while the juice is added at the end to prevent curdling from the acid.
Additional ingredients 1 tablespoon lemon zest ⅓ cup lemon juice Instructions
Prepare the vanilla custard. Before heating the milk, add the lemon zest to the saucepan along with the sugar and cornstarch. This will allow the lemon flavor to infuse during cooking.
Once the custard has thickened and been removed from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and butter. It is important to add the acidic lemon juice after cooking to prevent the custard from separating.
Continue with the remaining steps for chilling the custard. The result will be a bright, tangy, and silky smooth lemon custard.
[Banana Custard Variation]
Combine the milk with two very ripe, chopped bananas in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat and let it steep for at least one hour.
Strain the milk to remove the solids, gently pressing on them to extract all the banana flavor.
Proceed with the classic custard recipe using this infused milk.
[Chocolate Custard Variation]
Chocolate custard variation
Follow the classic recipe: Prepare the classic vanilla custard by following the steps above.
Melt the chocolate: Remove the custard from the heat and immediately add 6 ounces of finely chopped dark or semisweet chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 1–2 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.
Whisk until smooth: Whisk the custard until the melted chocolate is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth and silky.
Chill: Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.