Magic Custard Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the three types of baked custard? ›

There are three types of custard: baked, stirred, and frozen. Baked custards include bread pudding, flan, and cheesecake, and are prepared by baking in an oven or water bath. Boiled Custards include beverages like eggnog. Puddings, creme anglaise (krem on-GLAYZ), and pastry cream are some examples of stirred custards.

Using a Thickening Agent

For 1 cup (240 mL) of custard, use 2 tablespoons (17 g) of flour mixed with 4 tablespoons (59 mL) of cold water. Add the mixture into your custard ingredients as they cook on the stove. Use cornstarch as an alternative to flour. Cornstarch, like flour, requires cold water as a mixing agent.

What does a hot water bath do? It prevents the custard from curdling or cracking. Egg-based desserts need to cook slowly at a low temperature to keep a creamy texture, and the hot water helps to do just that.

The main difference between the two is that creme brulee is topped with a layer of sugar that caramelizes under a broiler or torch, resulting in a crunchy, burnt sugar topping. Egg custard does not have this additional layer of sugar, but some recipes call for a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon.

While most custard and pudding recipes both typically call for eggs, the main difference is that pudding uses a starch for thickening, whereas custard's thickening agent is the egg itself (or egg yolk, in most instances). Custard's texture also tends to be firmer than pudding.

Thickening issues

In order to achieve successful gel formation in the custard recipe, the enzyme needs to be deactivated by cooking the custard almost to boiling (slightly below 212°F / 100°C). Otherwise, the remaining enzymes break down the starch gel, resulting in a liquid consistency for the custard.

Whole eggs, as opposed to just egg yolks, will also give you a firmer texture. If you are really concerned, you could add a teaspoon of flour to the ingredients to help firm up the custard's texture.

To thicken your custard, place your store-bought custard in a medium saucepan with the vanilla bean paste. In a separate bowl, combine cornflour with 1tbsp water, and mix until well-combined. Add to the custard, and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.

Butter: A tablespoon of butter lends richness. Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the custard. Eggs: Four eggs ensure a creamy, thick, and velvety texture. Sugar: Sweeten things up with ½ cup of white sugar.

What are the mistakes when making custard? ›

You'll know your custard has scrambled once the mixture turns lumpy. This often happens as a result of overheating your liquid.

Custard is usually a sauce to pour on puddings, though there are baked egg custards (caramel custard or créme Brulee) which can be served alone or with fruit, or as a layer in a trifle or in a custard tart.

Crème anglaise – Light sweetened pouring custard. Crème brûlée – Custard dessert with hard caramel top. Crème caramel – Custard dessert with soft caramel on top, also known as flan, caramel custard, egg pudding or caramel pudding. Cremeschnitte – Puff pastry dessert. Custard pie – Pastry container with a sweet egg ...

The three main types of custard are baked custard, stirred custard, and pastry cream. Baked custard is made by baking a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, and flavorings until set. Pastry cream is a thicker version of stirred custard. Stirred custard involves cooking the ingredients on the stovetop until thickened.

Baked custards are essentially “thinner uncooked custards”, that are baked until set. Usually pastry cream and pouring custard are cooked over the stove. But baked custards are cooked (or finished cooking) in the oven.

The methodology and most of the ingredients are the same, except pastry cream incorporates flour or cornstarch and therefore needs to be boiled. This results in a much, much thicker custard. Crème anglaise on the other hand, is thickened only with egg yolks resulting in a thinner, silkier, more pourable sauce.