How to make Custard from scratch … and a layered custard and jelly dessert

Today’s post is a walk down memory lane for me. As a kid, this dessert made an appearance at a lot of parties and gatherings and on other special occasions too. My mum makes a version of this. However, back in the day, we always used custard powder to make our custard. And I used to love it. When we moved away from India, initially I found it a little hard to find the custard powder that we used. So I did the only other thing I could think of. I started working on a custard recipe. After a few attempts and tweaks, I came up with a recipe that I was happy with. It’s a simple, easy and super delicious one. Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. Try it out for yourself and see. And then come back and let me know what you thought of it.

 

Once you make the custard, there are so many ways you can use it. Make a thinner version and pour it over your favorite dessert. You can serve this custard with some fresh fruit or use it to make a fresh fruit tart (I’ll share how I make mine very soon). Or you can do what I did, I made a layered dessert and serve it with some jelly. It was my first attempt at serving it up this way.  If you don’t want to make individual servings, you can set your custard and jelly separately and let your guests help themselves to it.

Whichever way you decide to serve it up, you are going to love it.

How to make Custard from scratch … and a layered custard and jelly dessert

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: DessertDifficulty: Medium
Servings

6

servings
Cooking time

30

minutes
Setting time

6

minutes

A party favourite, this dessert combines 2 crowd favourites – a creamy vanilla custard and a fruit salad jelly.

Ingredients

  • For the custard –
  • 4 egg yolks

  • 3 cups milk

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1 tbsp cornflour

  • A scant pinch of salt

  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

  • For the fruit salad Jelly
  • 1 pack of Raspberry Jelly

  • Assortment of fresh fruit, chopped into little pieces
    (Do NOT use pineapple, kiwi or papaya / pawpaw as your jelly will not set.)

Directions

  • For the custard –
  • In a heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla till it is light and creamy.
  • Add the cornflour and whisk it in.
  • Next add the milk and whisk it in till it is well incorporated and is a uniform mix.
  • Place on a medium heat and cook, whisking continuously for about 15-18 minutes.
  • Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate to set.
  • For the fruit salad jelly –
  • Pour the jelly granules in a bowl.
  • Add 250ml boiling hot water. Stir to dissolve the Jelly granules.
  • Add 200ml cold water and stir through.
  • When the jelly has reached room temperature, add some chopped fruit.

    ** Please note, every Jelly brand may have to be prepared differently. So, please follow the instructions on your box of jelly to achieve the best results.
  • To assemble the layered dessert –
  • Layer the custard in your servingware and refrigerate to set. Usually a couple of hours will achieve this.
  • When the custard has set, gently pour the fruit salad jelly over it.

    Refrigerate till you’re ready to serve.

    Enjoy chilled!

Recipe Video

Notes

  • If you are serving up the custard and jelly as a layered dessert, make the jelly only once the custard has set. This way it will still have a pouring consistency to help you layer the dessert.