Kick Off the Festive Season With These Delicious Custard Desserts

We’ve all grown up enjoying custard in one form or the other. By far, the most popular version has got to be the famous fruit custard. Its ubiquitousness can also be attributed to how easy it is to make custard as well as how adaptable it is — to a point where almost every food establishment and household kitchen has devised its own recipe. While there’s no doubt about how comforting the dessert is on its own, let’s give it a makeover this festive season with these three custard dessert recipes.    

Rose and Pistachio Custard Tart

Rose-flavored jelly along with pistachios and rose petals add a festive touch to this custard dessert. 

Ingredients

• 28 gm pistachios (extra for garnishing)
• 192 gm plain flour
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 150 gm butter (chilled)
• I tbsp iced water
• Edible rose petals (for garnishing)

For the custard:

• 709 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 6 egg yolks
• 150 gm caster sugar
• 29 gm corn flour
• 2 tbsp plain flour

For the rose jelly:

• 4 raspberries
• 1½ tbsp caster sugar
• 295 ml water
• 3 tsp powdered gelatine
• 2 tsp rose water

Instructions

- In a food processor, pulse pistachios to form crumbs. To this, add flour and icing sugar and pulse. Then add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly, add enough water to the mixture till it forms into a dough. Shape it into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

- Lightly grease a deep tart pan; it should have a removable base. Roll out the dough on a floured surface; it should be 4 mm thick. Line the tart pan with the dough and trim the edges. Pop the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

- Preheat your oven to 180°C. Blind bake the pastry crust for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 15 minutes. It should look golden and crispy. Set it aside to cool.

- To make the custard, add milk and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan; mix and bring to almost boiling point. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until it turns pale and thick. Then add both the flours and whisk. Slowly whisk in the warm milk mixture. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Make sure to stir constantly until the custard boils and thickens. Pour the custard into the pastry crust and chill for at least two hours.

- To make the rose jelly, blend raspberries, sugar and water until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Separately, mix gelatine powder with 2 tbsp of boiling water; whisk until the gelatine is dissolved. Add this to the raspberry mixture along with rose water and whisk. Pour this over the custard layer and refrigerate for 2 hours.

- Before serving, sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios and rose petals. 

Lemon Custard Pudding Slice

This wobbly and delicious custard dessert takes under 40 minutes to prepare! 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs (separated)
• 85 gm caster sugar
• 100 gm instant pudding mix
• 100 gm butter (melted)
• 94 gm plain flour
• 414 ml milk
• 59 ml lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• Icing sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

- Preheat your oven to 170°C; line a slice tin with baking paper.

- In a bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff. 

- In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, pudding mix and melted butter until you arrive at a pale mixture. Add flour and whisk until there are no lumps. Then add milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and whisk until smooth. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture.

- Pour the custard mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes. 

- Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares. Before serving, dust with icing sugar. 

Custard Trifle

A spin on the traditional English trifle pudding, this custard rendition is so easy and fun to put together that you can even do it with your kids.  

Ingredients

• 10-12 pieces of vanilla cake (cut into cubes)
• 2 cups of vanilla custard
• 2 cups chopped mixed fruits (strawberries, pineapples, kiwis, oranges, grapes)
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade (or a jam of your choice)
• 234 gm whipped cream

Instructions

- Mix marmalade with the pieces of fruit and set aside for 10 minutes.

- Fold half of the whipped cream into the vanilla custard. 

- In serving bowls, arrange pieces of cake at the bottom, layer with a tablespoon of fruit followed by custard. Repeat the layers depending on the size of your serving dish.

- Top with whipped cream and more fruits. Refrigerate before serving.