The Ultimate Vanilla Custard

Step 1

Begin by adding the milk and vanilla to a pan. Add both the seeds and pod to the milk and then bring to a boil over low-medium heat.

Step 2

Turn off the heat and remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture.

Step 3

Add the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour to a large bowl and whisk immediately and well, until you have a yellowy cream consistency. This helps prevent the eggs from cooking if you keep the mixture in motion while adding the milk.

Step 4

Next, pour the warm milk in slow amounts slowly and gradually into the bowl of egg mixture, whisking well between each addition.*

Step 5

Transfer the mixture back to a pan and heat on low-medium, whisking constantly, until thickened. Depending on how low your heat is, this can take up to 15-20 minutes. Make sure not to boil the mixture at all as this can ruin the custard.**Note that the custard will thicken further when cooled.You can also, optionally, sieve the custard, for a silky smooth finish.

Step 6

Optional step: Once ready remove from the heat and add in 1-2tbsp of unsalted butter to the vanilla custard. However, only do this if you don't want a thicker custard.

Step 7

Serve this vanilla custard immediately while warm or allow it to chill in the fridge until ready to serve, for up to two days.Make sure to cover the top with plastic wrap/ beeswax wrap, to prevent a 'film' from developing on top of the custard.

Step 8

If you want to serve the homemade custard fairly soon after making it, then you can keep it warm by standing the jug in a pan of hot water, covering the top with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin/film forming).If you want to keep the custard warm for a few hours, then you can pour it into an insulated flask.