This easy homemade custard recipe is a real treat. It's so creamy and delicious (although made without cream) and it takes less than 15 minutes to make, with an easy all in one method.
Firstly, to clarify, this is a stovetop custard recipe. It's a custard sauce, otherwise known as Creme Anglaise or English custard. It's the perfect accompaniment to pour over Apple and almond crumble , Healthy rhubarb crumble or a bowl of fruit. Egg custards that are baked in the oven are more solid, and not suitable to be used as a sauce.
A slightly thicker version of this custard can be used in recipes such as healthy trifle, gluten rhubarb and custard tart or healthy rhubarb muffins with a custard filling.
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 if want a low fat custard.
Yes. I've used whole egg in this recipe as I think it is more convenient than having left over egg white. However if you do have egg yolks that you want to use up, replace one egg white with two egg yolks in this recipe
Easy custard recipe tips
This recipe uses an all in one method, and you'll only have one pan to wash up. Simply add all the ingredients to the pan, and stir constantly whilst you bring the custard to the boil. Voila, perfect lump free custard in just 10 minutes.
Adjust the recipe to suit
- 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. Yum:)
Healthy custard
One of the benefits of making homemade custard is that you can control what goes into it. This recipe is much lower in sugar than most bought custard, although of course you can sweeten it to taste, or replace the sugar with stevia or maple syrup. It's also lower in fat than most, especially if you use skimmed or fat reduced milk. And the combination of milk and egg make this a great source of calcium, protein and vitamin B12.
Enjoy your healthy custard hot or cold. If you want to leave it to cool and don't want a skin to form, you'll need to put a layer of greaseproof paper directly onto the custard. Enjoy!
If you're a big fan of custard, you might also like to try this custard oats recipe. It's healthy porridge with an egg, which makes a rich custardy porridge.
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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 medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to the boil and is thickened. Turn off the heat, 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.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Billy says
Made this tonight, poured over two small apple cakes mmmmmmmm thanks so much
Wendy Faulkner says
A pleasure, glad you enjoyed it. Apple cake and custard sounds lovely:)
Kara says
This is the lumpiest custard I have ever made! I couldn’t even get it to boiling point because it was cooked like scrambled eggs on the bottom. Taste is ok. I don’t know what i done wrong. Was i supposed to use the double boiler method? Thanks
Wendy Faulkner says
Aw Kara. I'm sorry to hear that. No you don't need to use a double boiler. I think maybe the heat was too high. Keep the heat on a lower setting and stir the custard as it cooks.
Thomas says
When adding the corn flour, add it slowly, and make sure its being mixed into the custard mixture. I made this mistake before too. You can also add the cornflour to a bowl and add some of the milk to the bowl and mix it until smooth. Then add that cornflour mix to the pot- slowly! Bit by bit ^^
Angela Mitchell says
Sorry for this question but I just wanted to double check that I do use the complete egg and not just the egg yolk like most recipes say!
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, yes this custard recipe is made with a whole egg.
Susan says
Just made this recipe and it was very nice better than expected. Iv always used only egg yolks but this recipe is much easier to make and delicious.
Leanne says
How long can this custard be kept in the fridge for please ? And then reheated
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, you can store homemade custard in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it very gently otherwise it'll be prone to splitting.
Elaine Burns says
Just made this today.excellent recipe .So easy and much healthier.thankyou.
Caro Kennett says
Fabulous recipe as I didn’t have any cream for the traditional one and actually I think now, I prefer this, thank you so much. 😊
Lorna says
Hi Wendy, I've just made this as a quick snack for lunch with a couple of bananas, as I had a real hankering after something 'naughty'. I used 200ml oat milk unsweetened, and 'Sugarly' which is a granulated sweetener, rest of ingredients the same. So the only thing that was really 'countable' according to my slimming world diet was the cornflour, which if I'd shared the custard with my partner it would have been one/thirtieth of my daily allowance!!! So a very good way to jazz up the boring bananas. This was an easy, no lumps recipe, with ingredients I always have in the house. So from a UK 'slimmer' (on occasion) I will highly recommend this to friends/colleagues 🙂
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you Lorna, I'm glad to hear of your successful 'slimming world' custard:)
Steph says
I was looking for a homemade custard recipe a few did pop up but your one was the best one for me. Made it today. So simple and easy to make.
Delicious yummy custard. Reminded me of the custard I had as a child. I will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you so much!
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you for your comment. It's a pleasure:)
Tina Day says
Thank you so much for a fantastic foolproof custard recipe! It’s a game changer for sure! I’ve always used the delia smith one pan all in one recipe to make a white sauce and it’s never failed so as soon as I saw your recipe which is the exact same principle I knew it would work, and it did! Why would anyone use the (not foolproof) traditional method of making custard when you can do it like this!
Wendy Faulkner says
A pleasure, I'm glad you liked it:)
Fiona says
Great recipe and helpful responses, thank you
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, it's a pleasure:)
Dan Stalinski says
I made my first pudding today with milk egg and cornstarch vanilla sugar I used reduced fat milk and it came out perfectly. I loved it ...
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed your homemade custard:)
Lauren says
Just made and substituted cornflour with plain flour as I ran out- turned out perfectly, so quick and easy! Thanks 🙂
Wendy Faulkner says
Thanks for your comment, I'm glad it worked with your substitution:)
Sharon says
So easy and delicious thank you 😊
Paul parry says
Hello, we have just made this for the second night running and put it on our homegrown rhubarb crumble, it is delicious and so easy,
Thankyou
Paul
Wendy Faulkner says
My pleasure:) My rhubarb is coming through in the garden now, so hopefully not too much longer to wait for crumble and custard!
Liz says
Recipe was quick and easy, but I found it to be bland. I added some more sugar and vanilla, but it didn’t change much of the flavor.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Liz, I guess custard has quite a mild taste as it's just eggs and milk with a bit of sweetness!
Dan says
Amazing thank you! 🙏 It was so quick and easy and tastes great! I added a bit more sugar and vanilla for love 🥰
S Pika says
Was looking for a quick and easy homemade custard recipe. This was perfect, absolutely delicious custard and not sweet and so easy
Christal says
Could I make this recipe without cornflour as I’m allergic to it and i want to know if there are any alternatives
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, sorry but I've only ever made this type of custard with cornflour I'm afraid. You could try arrowroot, but I haven't personally tested it.
Lizzie says
Hello - this may be a little late but I used arrowroot powder instead of cornflour. It seemed to work fine. I also used coconut milk instead of milk.
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, it's really useful to know that you can make custard with arrowroot too.
Mia says
I'm going to try it with oat milk. Wish me luck
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Mia, this custard recipe works well with oat milk, I've done it before. See the full oat milk custard recipe. Enjoy:)
CHERYL CARVEL says
Hi what was custard like with coconut milk
Kitsune says
I am the worst person at following recipes especially if I don't have what's needed, I mix and match
Instead of cornflour , I would substitute it for plain flour cooked in butter like you would to make a white sauce then add the milk to cool it down before adding the rest and bring slowly to the boil to thicken and leave to cool
Paul says
I tried this recipe the other day. Doubled up the ingredients and whisked all the ingredients together in a stand mixer, I used semi skimmed milk in mine before transferring to a pan on medium and it worked perfectly. And it tastes delicious, especially with bananas, as I love bananas and custard. I am now converted to making home made using this recipe which is so simple to make after discovering out of curiosity just what the extra unhealthy ingredients are that the commercial brands put in that we don't need in our bodies. So I will be making another batch soon for when I do a apple crumble. I don't know why I never thought of making home made custard long before now. Thank you so much for this recipe, you have a new convert.
Leah says
How much custard does this make? I’m looking to use it in a trifle and my trifle recipe calls for two cups of homemade custard and I was looking at this recipe because it doesn’t have cream and I forgot to get some heavy cream.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, this recipe makes about 250ml of custard which is just over a cup. So you’ll need to double the quantities for your trifle.
Shellie says
This worked perfectly, I never knew it could be so easy to make custard from scratch! I used a whisk to stir it in the pan.
Tiffany Gutierrez says
Newbie here! Can you refrigerate leftovers promptly or cover as suggested to keep it skin-free, then refrigerate? How many days will this be good for in the fridge?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, I'd cover it and pop it in the fridge straight away. You can keep it for up to 3 days.
Nehal says
I loved this. Just made some for my son and he polished both portions.
Quick question - is it possible to make icecream from this custard?
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, I'm glad your son enjoyed the custard so much. That is a really good question. I've been thinking for a while that I'll experiment with making ice cream from it, but I'm afraid I haven't had the time to yet. It's always a challenge to make good ice cream which is low in sugar and saturated fat, but I'm going to crack it one day!!
Paul says
Hi Tiffany I made some the other day but doubled up the ingredients, and stored my left over custard in the fridge once it had been cooled down in a clear and reusable plastic tub with a lid in the door shelf so its easier to keep an eye on, but I used up my leftovers within 2-3 days of making . Not sure exactly how long it will keep for in the fridge, but I am sure someone will know exactly before it starts to turn. Hope this helps.