Homemade vanilla custard is an easy-to-make and decadent dessert that your whole family will love! Made with simple ingredients, my homemade custard recipe takes about twenty minutes to prepare and a few hours to chill and set up.
It’s perfect for a dinner party or just to treat your family to a delicious dessert.
My homemade custard recipe is a family favorite in our house and never fails to bring smiles to the table. Another family favorite is my classic rice pudding.
I’ve made a lot of different custard recipes over the years and this is my favorite. It’s similar to pastry cream, but richer. It’s also thinner so it can’t be used to stuff cream puffs or to use inbetween cake layers. It’s simply a creamy delicious pudding.
If you love vanilla custard, make sure to try my Creme Brulee and Spanish Flan recipes.
Ingredients to make Homemade Vanilla Custard
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my homemade vanilla custard. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I use whole eggs to make the custard?
You could, but I wouldn’t advise it. The whites of the egg will change the texture and may end up getting gritty, and then you’d need to use a fine mesh strainer to get a creamy custard.
How to make Vanilla Custard
- Add the granulated sugar, table salt, and cornstarch to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg yolks, whole milk, and light cream (or heavy cream if you’re feeling decadant) to the mixture.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Place a saucepan over medium-low heat and pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan.
- Cook the mixture for 10-12 minutes (or until thickened), whisking continuously to keep the mixture from scalding.
*Mix until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. - Remove the pan from the heat, then add the butter and vanilla extract.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour the custard into a medium bowl and cover it by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard, leaving no space between the plastic and the custard. This prevents a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate the custard for 3-4 hours (overnight is best) before serving.
You can use real vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste instead of the extract. Both will give you those delicious vanilla speckles in the custard and give you a more prominent vanilla flavor.
*If you use a vanilla pod, scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pod using a knife.
Serve the delicious homemade vanilla custard with homemade whipped cream and fresh berries or fresh fruit of your choice.
Store any leftover custard in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Recipe FAQs
Vanilla Custard is a decadent dessert that uses simple ingredients. It’s made with a combination of eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. Eggs are responsible for the custard’s thick and velvety texture, which is further thickened by using cornstarch.
Custard and pudding recipes are almost identical. They both use eggs as the thickening agent, whereas custard also uses cornstarch to make it firmer than most puddings. Pudding generally won’t include cream, which is sometimes added to custard to make it richer.
Yes, it is. Most creme brulee recipes will include more cream than a typical custard, so it is a richer dessert. Creme brulee also includes a hardened caramelized sugar topping.
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Homemade Vanilla Custard
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup light cream or milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the granulated sugar, table salt, and cornstarch to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg yolks, milk, and light cream to the mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Place a saucepan over medium-low heat and pour the custard mix into the pot.
- Cook the mixture for 10-12 minutes (or until thickened), whisking continuously to keep the mixture from scalding. *Mix until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then add the butter and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Pour the custard into a medium bowl and cover by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard, leaving no space between the plastic and custard. This prevents a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate the custard for 3-4 hours (overnight is best) before serving.
Hunter Hampton says
I haven’t made it, but I’m wondering since you use milk and cream, can you just use half and Half?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes you can,
Peter says
Best Custard ever, and super easy.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
VivA says
Lovely custard recipe. It took about 20 minutes to thicken, but I think I had it on too low a temperature. I used a different recipe before and it burnt so I was being a bit too cautious. I’ll know next time.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you and hopefully next time it will thicken more quickly,
LizD says
Made this to go with a Pavlova with fresh whip cream and berries. Great simple recipe. I didn’t cook it long enough. I got worried some of the thicker bits were egg getting scrambled and pulled off the stovetop too early. Definitely user error and I’ll know better for next time. However, it was like a thicker sweet vanilla cream and was still so so good on the Pavlova.
Chef Dennis Littley says
That’s an easy mistake to make, I’m sure next time it will come out thicker.
Lori says
My husband loves custard. I found this recipe and it was so simple to make and so delicious the only thing I changed was I used whole milk.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the custard!
marianne zboray says
I just made this and tasted it warm, simply delicious! Now to cool it.
My question is: after the hot custard is in the bowl, does the plastic wrap go directly on, even if the custard is hot and then directly into the refrigerator?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes, place the plastic directly on top of the custard and refrigerate.
Anita Saenz says
What is light cream, obviously it’s not whipping cream
Chef Dennis Littley says
It’s a lighter version of heavy cream, most store carry it but if you can’t find it you can use half and half.
Sue says
This was so easy to make and absolutely delicious with fresh blueberries in it. Thank you for a great recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my custard recipe! I love serving it with fresh berries and when in season fresh peaches!
Amanda says
Wonderful recipe – for anyone wondering, I used almond milk instead of whole milk and it came out absolutely amazing. Thanks for a great easy to follow recipe.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks so much for letting me know that you used almond milk and the recipe worked out with the exchange! I love hearing happy success stories.
Victoria says
Very easy to prepare – and I made it with cocounut milk – came out great!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know my recipe worked well with coconut milk
Kimberly says
I love the ease of this recipe. This is the second time I have made it. I use low fat lactose free milk so I add an extra yolk to add fat/creaminess. I am allergic to corn so i used tapioca starch. The four stars is due to the sweetness. I found the recipe to be over bearing with the normal amount of sugar. I use unrefined turbinado sugar (I cannot use refined sugars due to a medical condition) and reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. It will still need some tartness to cut the sweetness. I truly appreciate the recipe being from scratch with simple ingredients, easy to adapt to my dietary needs.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you were able to adapt the recipe to your dietary needs.
Natasha says
How much is 1 serving? 1/2 cup?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes a serving is 1/2 cup.
Cynthia says
Can I use 1/2 cup heavy cream instead of light cream.?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Sure, it will be richer with the heavy cream.
Angela Breeden says
Can I use this for a banana pudding recipe?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes, you can. You just need to add the bananas and nilla wafers.
Sandra says
Can this recipe be tripled, or would it be better to just make multiple batches? I want to serve custard to 12 people in small bowls and top with berries. Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
It can if you feel confident enough to handle that much at one time. If you want to triple it, I would probably split it into to pans rather than take the chance on having issues with the larger amount.
Magsgigi says
Quick, easy and delicious. I made the custard to top meringue shells, decorated with fresh raspberries and candied pecans. Great dessert for company. Thank You Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You are very welcome and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my custard recipe. Its sounds delightfully delicious the way you prepared it!
Eunique Rodgers says
My kids grew up with laying hens I made custard a lot. My son turns 25 tomorrow, does not like cake so I wanted to make him something special. This recipe is super easy and delicious. I poured it into ramekins with a soft baked shortbread crust and tomorrow I will top with some fresh fruit and whipped cream.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the custard and its sounds OMG delicious the way you prepared it.
Emily Vandersyde says
This came out perfectly! Thank you. It will make a great batch of vanilla ice cream
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know the custard came out well. It will definitely make great vanilla ice creamn!