If you’re in a time crunch or just don’t want to spend too much time coming up with a dessert, then instant custard powder is your friend. It was invented by Alfred Bird for his wife who suffered from egg allergies, but loved custard to bits. He replaced eggs with corn flour as a thickening agent, which proved to be a success. Once Bird started selling it commercially, the powder was an instant success and many home cooks chose to swap out traditional custard recipes with his dry mix.
There are so many different brands of instant custard powder in the market that are vegetarian, an important characteristic for Indian consumers, and are also available in flavors like vanilla, strawberry, and kesar pista. You can quickly whip up a simple custard and serve it with some fruits if you want. But if you want to take this box mix just a notch up, then here are some recipes you can refer to:
Custard Powder Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ tbsp vanilla custard powder
- 5 tbsp sugar (adjust to liking)
- 480 ml milk
- 2 tbsp cream
Instructions:
- Take about 3 tbsp of milk and make a slurry with the vanilla custard powder. Set it aside.
- Then bring the rest of the milk to a boil, and add sugar. Stir to dissolve all the granules.
- Lower the heat and add the vanilla custard slurry and keep mixing until the liquid thickens.
- Then take it off heat and let it cool down. This will also slightly thicken the custard.
- Add two tablespoons of cream to this and whip either using a whisk or an electric hand mixer.
- Pour the mixture into a box and pop it in the freezer for half an hour.
- Then once again whip it to break any ice crystals and smoother the custard.
- Put it back in the freezer and repeat this about 3 to 4 times or until you achieve a thick, creamy and airy ice cream consistency. Then let it freeze overnight.
- Serve as part of a sundae or just like that with a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Custard Powder Halwa
Ingredients:
- 125 gm vanilla custard powder
- 600 gm sugar
- 950 ml water
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 15-20 chopped pistachios, almonds or cashews
Instructions:
- Mix custard powder with water, and sugar. Mix well to remove any lumps.
- Put this on heat and keep mixing until you get a very thick but smooth consistency. It will also resemble a jelly because we’ve not put any milk in this.
- Add a tablespoon of ghee into this and keep mixing.
- As you keep cooking the custard mix, it will reach closer and closer to a dough-like consistency. Add another tablespoon of ghee after 2-3 minutes.
- Finally add the chopped nuts into this, and transfer into a greased dish. Spread it evenly.
- Let the halwa chill in the fridge for an hour. Then cut it into diamonds or squares and enjoy.
Vanilla Custard Cookies
Ingredients:
- 250 gm flour
- 55 gm vanilla custard powder
- 225 gm + 1 tbsp room temperature butter
- 150 gm powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Sift the vanilla custard, powdered sugar and flour into a large bowl and set aside. You can do this once or twice.
- Cream the butter until it’s pale, light, and fluffy.
- Then add the custard-sugar-flour mix into this and mix until you get a firm dough.
- If the dough is crumbly or too dry, then add a splash of milk to bring it together. If the dough is too sticky, then add a sprinkle of flour.
- Now you can either roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out cookies using a cookie cutter, or roll it into a log and cut cookies.
- Then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them chill in the fridge for half an hour.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 C.
- Once the dough is chilled, place it in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden and well done.
- Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.