Basic custard
Master this and a whole world of sweet treats is at your fingertips.
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod reserved
- 600 ml pouring cream
- 300 ml milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 150 gm caster sugar
Method
- 1Combine vanilla pod and seeds, cream and milk in a heavy-based saucepan and bring just to the boil over medium heat.
- 2Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until very thick and pale.
- 3Pour hot cream mixture over egg mixture, whisking continuously to combine, then transfer to a clean pan.
- 4Cook, stirring continuously, over low-med-ium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- 5Strain into a bowl placed over ice and cool completely.
Notes
Variations on basic custard
For chocolate custard: leave out vanilla and add 200gm finely chopped dark chocolate to the mixture just before straining, mixing well to melt and combine.
For honey custard: substitute the sugar with 150gm honey.
For passionfruit custard: add 2/3 cup passionfruit pulp to cooled custard mixture.
For strawberry custard: add 2/3 cup strawberry purée and 1 tsp lemon juice to cooled custard mixture.
To make ice-cream: freeze the cooled custard mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
Trifle
To make a lush trifle, coarsely crush some strawberries, a little sugar and a liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, together using a fork. Layer in a large bowl, top with some coarsely crumbled sponge cake (soaked in liqueur) and vanilla custard.