Best English Custard Recipes

A VERY PROPER ENGLISH CUSTARD

Steps:

• Bring milk and cream to a simmer slowly on low heat.
• Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together, add the egg yolks, combine well.
• Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add vanilla. Return to the saucepan and stir gently until thickened. Serve hot, or cool to use as a layer in trifles, or fill tart pans.
• Tip. If using it hot, it can be kept warm in a jug set in a pan of hot water with a bit of cling film on top to prevent a skin forming.

REAL ENGLISH CUSTARD FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• In a bowl beat the yolks and cornflour by hand with a whisk until well combined.
• Heat the milk and the vanilla in a heavy based saucepan.
• Add the yolk mixture and the sugar.
• Stir constantly (in a figure 8 to get all the sides) over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes OR until it is thick and coats the back of the spoon. Never let it boil as the bottom of the pan will burn and all you will taste is burnt custard.
• Rest for 10 minutes and serve warm.

MAIDS OF HONOUR - TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CUSTARD CHEESECAKE TARTS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 425F degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour with the diced butter and the scant teaspoonfuls of shortening. Cover and place the bowl into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in another bowl, place the eggs, lemon juice, rosewater or orange-flower water, and a pinch of salt and put in the refrigerator. Using a food processor (or by hand, but this will take some elbow grease), blend the fats and flour until the pastry just begins to come together, yet still is a little coarse and crumbly. Take care not to over-blend, as this process goes quickly, so watch carefully. Gradually feed the liquids in through the feeder spout until the pastry is almost coming together. Scoop it out onto a flour-dusted work surface and knead a few times with your hands, then form into two discs, wrap each disc in cling wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out.
• While pastry is chilling, make the filling. Cut lengthwise down the vanilla bean with the tip of a sharp knife. Place the vanilla bean with the cream into a saucepan, and heat to just under the boiling point over a medium heat. Do not boil or it will curdle. Off the heat and remove the bean, scraping some of the seeds into the cream. Now add the butter, sugar, ground almonds, egg, lemon zest and juice, and the rosewater or orange-flower water, stirring well to combine. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
• Roll out half the pastry, cut out 12 rounds with a 3-inch round cutter, and place into a 12-hole tart or muffin pan, pressing down with your fingers so they're well lined. Spoon half the filling into the pastry cases (remembering you'll have a second batch to do). Leave a good inch below the rim, as the custard will rise up as it bakes. Dust lightly with some fresh nutmeg and transfer carefully to the pre-heated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the custard's golden and puffy.
• Let the tarts sit in the pan for a few minutes before standing, unmolded, on a wire rack to cool. Dust tops with icing sugar.
• When the pan is cool, repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Leave the tarts to cool a little before serving (arrange them on a pretty serving plate or silver platter), but they are best eaten still slightly warm.

HOMEMADE ENGLISH CUSTARD

Steps:

• Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.
• Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy.
• As soon as the milk and cream mixture comes to the boil, pour onto the egg mixture and beat well.
• Return to the pan and place over a very gentle heat (or in a basin over a pan of simmering water) and stir continuously until the custard has thickened. Serve hot.
• should you need to keep the custard warm, lay a piece of greaseproof paper on the surface to stop a skin forming.

PROPER ENGLISH CUSTARD

Steps:

• 1. 1. Bring milk and cream to a simmer slowly on low heat.
• 2. 2 Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together, add the egg yolks, combine well.
• 3. 3. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add vanilla. Return to the saucepan and stir gently until thickened. Serve hot, or cool

ENGLISH CUSTARD (SAUCE ANGLAISE)

Steps:

• Place the yolks in a saucepan and add the sugar. Beat with a wire whisk until the mixture is thick and lemon-colored.
• Meanwhile, bring the milk almost, but not quite, to the boil.
• Gradually add the milk to the yolk mixture, beating constantly. Use a wooden spoon and stir constantly, this way and that, making certain that the spoon touches all over the bottom of the saucepan. Cook, stirring, and add the salt. Cook until the mixture has a custardlike consistency and coats the sides of the spoon. Do not let the sauce boil or it will curdle.
• Immediately remove the sauce from the stove, but continue stirring. Set the saucepan in a basin of cold water to reduce the temperature. Let the sauce cool to room temperature. Add the liqueur. Chill for one hour or longer.

CREME A L'ANGLAISE AU MARSALA (ENGLISH CUSTARD WITH MARSALA WINE)

Steps:

• Heat the milk in the top of a double boiler.
• Mix the sugar and flour in a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks and blend well. Add the milk, stirring with a wire whisk. Return the mixture to the top of the double boiler and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool quickly by placing the pan in cold water. Strain and add the wine. Chill thoroughly.

ENGLISH CUSTARD

Steps:

• Place yolks in a saucepan and add sugar. Beat with wire whisk until thick and lemon-colored.
• Meanwhile, bring milk almost but not quite to boil.
• Gradually add milk and cream to yolk mixture, beating constantly. Stir constantly with wooden spoon, making certain spoon touches bottom of saucepan all over. Cook, stirring, and add salt. Cook until mixture has custardlike consistency and coats side of spoon. Do not let sauce boil, or it may curdle.
• Immediately remove sauce from stove, but continue stirring. Set saucepan in a basin of cold water. Let sauce cool to room temperature, then add brandy. Chill an hour or longer.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CUSTARD (CREME ANGLAIS)

Steps:

• Put the cream and the sugar in a pan.
• Slice the vanilla pod lengthways with a very sharp knife. Scrape out the seeds (they are dust-like black specks) and put these in the pan. Roughly chop the seed pod into inch-long chunks and put in the pan, too.
• Bring to the boil, then simmer for five minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk slightly to break up.
• When the cream is ready, bring back to the boil briefly then quickly pour over the eggs, whisking as you do it. It is very important to keep whisking at this stage, otherwise the eggs will cook before mixing with the cream. Continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken, indicating that the eggs are cooked.
• If this should not happen (sometimes it doesn't if my kitchen is too cold), then place back on the heat and cook very gently, stirring all the time, until it thickens.
• Strain through a fine sieve to remove the bits of vanilla pod (you will still see the flecks of vanilla seeds in the mixture) and serve.

KIWI FRUIT TART (ITALIAN 'CROSTATA') WITH CREAMY ENGLISH CUSTARD

Steps:

• The day before you're planning to serve the tart, make the shortcrust sweet shortcrust pastry. Add the soft butter and icing sugar to a bowl and beat together with a whisk until smooth and fluffy. Combine the egg yolks, vanilla, lemon zest and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the yolk mixture to the butter and sugar and continue to mix until fully incorporated and you achieve a smooth cream.
• Sift the flour and corn flour together and add one third to the butter and egg cream. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, start to incorporate the flour ensuring no lumps form. Add the remainder of the flour and mix with the spoon until it comes together to a soft pastry. If it's looking too dry, add a splash of cold water to finally bring it together. Fold the pastry a couple of times with your hands to form a ball. Flatten the ball on a piece of cling film, wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
• After you've made your pastry, marinate the kiwi fruit for your compote (1 day ahead). Peel the kiwis and chop each one into medium sized chunks. Transfer them to a large bowl and weight them to check you have 1 kilogram of peeled fruits. In a separate medium bowl, combine together the sugar (I suggest you use fructose, if you can find it) and lemon juice and mix with a spoon to form a thick syrup. Pour the syrup onto the chopped kiwis and mix to coat. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
• The next day, make the compote. Transfer the fruit and all the juices to a pan or saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat. When it starts bubbling, lower the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, stirring from time to time. The compote will visibly start to thicken and become more jammy-like in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the process. Keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't catch to the bottom of the pan. Don't wait for it to be overly thick, as it will thicken more when cooling down. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Assemble and bake the tart. Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before working it. In the meanwhile, take a 20cm tart tin and coat the inside with butter and flour. Roll out half of the pastry to a 6mm thickness, cut a 20cm diameter disc and lay it on the bottom of the tin, as the tart base. Reserve the pastry scraps.
• Take the other half of the pastry and, using your hands, form a 2cm thick and long log. Pick it up and lay it inside the tart tin, all along the border. Trim the two ends so they perfectly connect with each other and save the rest of pastry for the decoration. Using your fingers or a piece of pastry, press the log against the border of the tin to flatten it and create the sides of the tart. Take your time and ensure the sides are equally thick all around. Using a small and sharp knife, trim and overhanging pastry and make holes all over with a fork to keep the tart flat while cooking.
• Pour the kiwi fruit compote into the centre of the tart and, using a spatula, spread a flat and even layer to completely fill the case. Bring all the leftover pastry together and roll out to a 6mm thickness. Using a straight object as a guide, cut as many long strips as you can fit (thick or thin is up to your liking) and lay them to decorate the top of the tart with a criss-cross pattern. Transfer the cake to the fridge to set for 15 minutes before baking. Bake over a metal tray for 40 minutes at 180°C. Cover with foil for the last 5 to10 minutes if you notice it's browning too quickly.
• Make the creamy English custard. While the tart bakes, pop a small metal tray or bowl into the freezer. Pour the cream and vanilla extract into a small pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. In the meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl and stir with a spatula to combine. When the cream starts to boil, remove from the heat and, using a fine sieve, pour half of it over the eggs and sugar, stirring constantly to prevent any egg to overcook. Once the mixture is smooth, add the remainder of cream, stir to combine. Remove any residue of cooked cream from the pan and pour the cream and egg mixture back in.
• Heat the cream and eggs over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mix thickens and becomes a smooth custard. If you have a food thermometer, it should read 82°C. Remove from the heat and pour the custard onto the frozen tray or bowl and whisk gently to cool it down as quick as possible. Once it is reasonably cold, leave at room temperature if serving immediately, or refrigerate with a cling film covering the surface for later.
• Finish and serve your tart. Once baked, take the tart out of the oven and leave to cool completely before unmoulding. Spray or brush some clear gelatine or apricot glaze over the pastry top and serve sliced accompanied by the warm custard.

ENGLISH EGG CUSTARD FOR 2

Steps:

• Beat together the egg-yolk and cornstarch in a small bowl.
• Bring the milk slowly to the boil in a non-stick pan.
• Pour on to the egg mixture, stirring steadily.
• Mix well.
• Pour the custard back into the pan and stir over a gentle heat until the mixture thickens till it will coat the back of a spoon.
• Add the vanilla essence.
• NOTE: For an extra-rich custard, stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream with the vanilla.