How to Make Custard

Our answer

For a relatively easy home-made custard (or Creme Anglaise) use 300ml (1 1/4 cups) full-fat (whole) milk, 2 egg yolks, 1 (15ml) tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch), 1 (15ml) tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Put the milk in a saucepan and heat gently until it just reaches boiling point. While the milk is heating put the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour the hot milk in a thin stream over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Give the saucepan a quick rinse out then pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook very gently over a low heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract before using the custard.

If your custard is lumpy it may be that you are cooking the custard too quickly, the custard around the bottom edge of the saucepan will cook quickly and form hard lumps. If you are nervous about controlling the heat under your saucepan then either use a heat diffusing mat or cook the custard in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (a bain marie).