This easy homemade custard is made without cream using simple, everyday ingredients including milk, a whole egg and cornflour. It's smooth, creamy and delicious without the need for cream. There's no custard powder needed either, and it takes less than 15 minutes to make on the hob, with an easy all-in-one method.
To clarify, this easy homemade custard is a custard sauce, also known as Crème Anglaise or English custard. It's the perfect accompaniment to pour over apple and almond crumble, or a bowl of stewed fruit. It's no exaggeration to say that between my daughter and me, we've made this custard recipe over 300 times!
Egg custards that are baked in the oven are more solid and not suitable for use as a sauce.
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Made without cream. This homemade custard is rich and creamy, but lighter and lower in saturated fat than a traditional recipe
- No custard powder needed. This convenient recipe is made from ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen
- Uses a whole egg, so there's no egg whites to use up later
- Quick and easy. Everything is mixed in one pan and the custard is ready in less than 15 minutes
- Easy to adapt. You can make it thicker or thinner for different types of dessert, and serve it warm or chilled
- Lower in added sugar. With just a small amount of added sugar, it's a healthier homemade custard recipe
Ingredients
Milk. I made this healthier custard with skimmed milk, but you could also use either semi-skimmed or full-fat milk. I've also got a recipe for dairy-free custard if you prefer.
Egg. I find custard with a whole egg convenient, as I make it frequently and don't want leftover egg whites. But if you prefer, you can use two egg yolks in place of one whole egg. You'll get a slightly richer, more eggy flavour and a deeper yellow colour.
Cornflour, also known as cornstarch. This fine white powder, which is found in the baking section of supermarkets, is not the same as cornmeal or polenta.
Sugar. There's only a small amount of sugar in the recipe, as milk is naturally quite sweet. If you prefer, you can substitute the sugar with either honey or an alternative sweetener such as stevia. I've personally made the recipe with honey before when I've run out of sugar.
Vanilla extract. Start with 1 quarter of a teaspoon, and you can always add more if you prefer a stronger vanilla flavour. A few readers have commented that they prefer to add a little more vanilla.
How to make custard without cream
This recipe uses an easy all-in-one method, and you'll only have one pan to wash up.
Simply add all the ingredients to a cold pan and whisk together until smooth.
Place on a low heat. Whisk constantly whilst you bring the custard up to the boil. Ensure that you stir across the whole pan whilst you are whisking so that the custard doesn't catch on the bottom.
Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the custard has just come to the boil and is thick and smooth. You'll have perfect lump-free custard in 10 minutes!
Recipe tips
- Keep the heat low and keep stirring!
- Take the custard off the heat once it has come to the boil and is thick and smooth. Overcooked custard can taste too eggy as the proteins in the egg start to change.
- If you want thick custard, use 200 ml of milk. If you prefer your custard to be thinner, use 250 ml milk. I suggest making the recipe with 200 ml milk, and then it's easy to stir in more milk at the end if you want to thin it down. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Traditionally, custard is flavoured with vanilla. In this recipe, I've used vanilla extract as it's simpler. However, you could also use a vanilla pod if you prefer.
- If you want a delicious chocolate custard, melt in a few squares of dark chocolate at the end. Delicious!
How to serve homemade custard
Often, if I've made a lighter dinner such as a salad, I'll make crumble and custard for dessert. It's filling, and the combination of milk and egg in the custard makes this a great source of calcium, protein and vitamin B12.
Banana and custard is one of my favourite snacks. And custard with stewed rhubarb and apple is perfect!
A slightly thicker version of this custard can be used in recipes such as healthy trifle, gluten free rhubarb and custard tart or healthy rhubarb muffins with a custard filling.
Easy custard desserts
Storage and reheating
Enjoy your healthy custard hot or cold. If you want to leave it to cool without a skin forming, you'll need to put a layer of greaseproof paper directly onto the custard.
Cooled custard can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you want to reheat it, put it in a pan (ideally non-stick) and heat it very gently whilst stirring constantly.
The heat must be very low, otherwise the custard can curdle. If you struggle with that on your hob, put the custard in a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. It'll take a little longer to reheat this way, but will keep the heat lower.
If you're a big fan of custard, and fancy it for breakfast, try this custard oats recipe. It's healthy porridge with an egg, which makes a rich custardy flavoured porridge.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, definitely. Milk and eggs will still provide a delicious creamy texture and taste. You can use either whole milk, or skimmed milk depending on how rich you want the custard to be.
Yes. I've used whole eggs to make this custard as I think it is more convenient than having leftover egg white. However, if you do have egg yolks that you want to use up, replace one whole egg with two egg yolks in this recipe.
Yes. You don't need custard powder to make custard. This recipe uses cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken the custard, together with a whole egg for flavour and richness. Vanilla adds the traditional custard flavour, so there's no need for custard powder.
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Recipe
Easy Homemade Custard without Cream
Ingredients
- 200-250 ml milk see notes above
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 whole egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Measure the cold milk into a pan, and add the other ingredients. Stir well until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.200-250 ml milk, 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tsp sugar, 1 whole egg, ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Place the pan over a low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture just comes to a boil and thickens. Ensure that you stir right across the base of the pan and into the corners. Turn off the heat immediately, and serve hot or cold.
- Using 200 ml of milk will make a thick custard, if preferred, add up to 50 ml more milk for a thinner consistency.
Notes
- Keep the heat low and keep stirring!
- Take the custard off the heat once it has come to the boil and is thick and smooth. Overcooked custard can taste overly eggy as the proteins in the egg start to change.
- Use a vanilla pod in place of vanilla extract if you prefer.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Danna Vincent says
Mine is cooking as I type, and I'm already liking the taste! I kind of put a little more sugar 🙈 it came out so good! I'm really excited to eat it but now it's hot 😆 thank you so much for the recipe! I found it because I didn't have any cream and this is what the AI brought me to
Rós says
Wow. Thank you for posting this recipe. I just made it with stewed apples and it was fantastic. Never buying custard powder again. And thank you again because this recipe is so economical - custard powder has gotten so expensive here in Ireland.
John says
Amazingly easy and tasty recipe! Worked perfectly when I needed custard but didn’t have any in the cupboard. Will make this in the future when I want custard instead of buying from the shop.
I followed the recipe exactly, using a low-ish heat and constantly stirred throughout, ensuring all parts of the bottom of the pan were stirred (to prevent burnt bits). Turned out perfectly.
It did have a slight “egg” taste to it, but definitely not overpowering. This could be because my taste buds are accustomed to inferior custard from the shops. I might try replacing the 1 whole egg with egg yolks next time as mentioned in the recipe.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, thank you for your feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed your custard. All yolks will make the recipe a little richer, and slightly more eggy as the yolk is the most flavoursome part of an egg.
Valerie Wang says
Excellent with stewed plums or rhubarb and so easy. Will never buy custard powder again!
Carol says
Thank you very much Wendy for this amazingly easy and healthy recipe. I'll be making this often as hot custard is such comfort food especially in winter (which it is right now here in New Zealand). I'm very keen to look at your other healthy recipes! Carol
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You might like to try it with apple and almond crumble which is in the desserts section on Cinnamon and Kale.
Tammy says
This is a such a fabulous, tasty and easy recipe to make. Won't buy custard again 😋
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you. I'm so glad you liked it.
Laura-Lee Lothbrook says
Subbed 2/3 of the milk for coconut cream and added some lemon zest - it was amazing! And I cannot believe how easy or low sugar it is. Thanks for this recipe!
Wendy Faulkner says
A pleasure:) Thank you.