How To Make Vegan Custard

How to make vegan custard - this delicious, creamy vegan vanilla custard is really quick and easy to make with basic ingredients and it tastes so good!

Serve it alongside all your favourite puddings and desserts for the ultimate comfort food experience!

This delicious vegan custard is really quick and easy to make and will take any dessert or pudding you serve it with to next level deliciousness!

You can easily buy vegan custard these days, and Birds custard powder is vegan if you make it with plant milk, but home made is just so much nicer than shop bought!

It is also so quick to make that you can have it ready in far less time than it would take you to go to the shop to buy some!

It has a creamy texture, sweet vanilla flavour and is extremely easy to customise to make different flavours - see below for ideas for some variations.

What Do I Need To Make Vegan Custard?:

Non-Dairy Milk: I recommend using unsweetened soy milk as it has a neutral flavour and creamy texture. If you can't use soy then a creamier milk like cashew or oat would be best.

If your milk is sweetened then you will need to reduce the sugar a little to compensate. You can always add more to taste once the custard is cooked.

Non-Dairy Cream: While technically you can make vegan custard with just plant milk I wouldn't recommend it, it tends to be a bit thin and lacking in flavour.

If you use part milk, part cream however, the custard has a wonderful creamy texture and more rounded flavour.

I like Elmlea Plant double cream, though single will also work, as will Alpro soy cream, or my homemade cashew cream (thinned to double cream consistency).

Coconut cream will work but it will impart a bit of coconut flavour.

Cornflour (Cornstarch): Cornflour (cornstarch) is what we use to thicken the custard in place of egg yolks.

I really don't recommend swapping it for any other kind of starch or flour, you will not get the right texture.

Sugar: While you can use any kind of sugar, white caster or granulated will give you the most classic custard flavour.

Brown sugar custard would be delicious however! (The colour will be darker if you use brown sugar). See variations below for how to make maple custard.

Vanilla Extract: Make sure to use extract rather than essence for the best flavour. You can also use vanilla bean paste or the seeds from a vanilla pod if you don't mind your custard being speckled.

Turmeric: This is totally optional but gives the custard a yellow tint so that it looks more like traditional egg custard.

Only use a teeny pinch however as otherwise you will be able to taste it.

Top Tips:

Don't taste the custard then put the spoon back into the custard - the enzymes from your saliva can break down the cornflour and make it runny again!

I don't recommend swapping the cornflour (cornstarch) for any other thickener. While technically arrowroot will work, it can give the custard a slimy texture.

Stir the custard constantly while it is cooking and don't cook it over too high a heat as that can make it lumpy or burn on the bottom.

The thickness and texture of the custard will vary a bit depending on what milk and cream you use, but you can adjust the amount of milk and cornflour to suit you.

As it cools the custard will form a skin, so if you aren't serving it as soon as it is cooked then you will need to cover the surface directly with greaseproof paper or clingfilm to prevent it.

My Custard Is Too Runny!:

If the custard isn't as thick as you would like, stir together another two teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch) with one tablespoon of cold milk.

Add this to the pan of custard, return it to the heat and stir until it has thickened.

If it still isn't thick enough then you can add more cornflour; always mix it with a little cold milk first however, if you add it straight to the pan it will form clumps.

My Custard Is Too Thick!:

That's an easy fix, simply stir in more vegan milk, about a tablespoon at a time, until the custard reaches the desired consistency.

My Custard Is Lumpy!:

This is a common problem but is easily solved.

If your custard becomes lumpy, pour it into a large jug and use a stick blender to blend it until it is smooth.

If you don't have a stick blender then you can briefly blend it in a regular blender instead.

Bear in mind that blending the custard will cause it to become a bit runnier as blending breaks down the cornflour; so don't add any extra milk until after you have blended it.

Can I Make It In Advance?:

This vegan custard really is best freshly made. If you want to prepare it in advance then you can mix together all of the ingedients, cover, and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours then cook the custard when needed.

If you really must cook it in advance then once the custard has thickened, pour it into a bowl and cover with greaseproof paper directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool then refrigerate for up to two days.

When you are ready to serve it, give it a really good stir and reheat gently in a pan, stirring constantly.

I don't recommend freezing it as that may cause it to split.

Variations:

Maple Custard: Omit the sugar and add 80ml (⅓ cup) of maple syrup instead.

Rum Custard: Add 1-2 tablespoon of rum, whisky or brandy to the custard after cooking. This is great served with my vegan Christmas pudding!

Chocolate Custard: Cook the custard as per the recipe then remove from the heat and stir in 60g finely chopped dark chocolate. Once the chocolate has melted you may need to add a little more milk to compensate.

Coffee Custard: Once the custard is cooked, stir in a couple of teaspoons of instant espresso powder, or a couple of tablespoons of Camp coffee extract (to taste).

Lemon Custard: Add a couple of strips of lemon peel to the rest of the ingredients before cooking.

Coconut Custard: Swap both the milk and cream for full fat coconut milk.

What To Serve With Vegan Custard:

• Steamed vegan chocolate pudding
• Vegan Christmas pudding
• Vegan steamed maple syrup pudding
• Vegan jam and coconut sponge
• Ginger apple pie
• Vegan sticky toffee pudding
• Lemon blueberry polenta cake

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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