The best custard recipe at home: composition, cooking method and reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

You don't need to be a culinary expert to make custards (eclairs) at home. Of course, making choux pastry is somewhat more difficult than other types, but still it is quite a feasible task.

Unfortunately, many are stopped by the fear of failure, which is very bad. So, where should you start mastering the recipe for custard at home?

First of all, you need to prepare the cream, because at the last stage of preparation it should already be cooled down. For this reason, it's a good idea to start making the cream a few hours before you start working on the custard dough.

The best custard recipes offer a classic cream for eclairs - custard. It is very easy to make and requires eggs, sugar, cream, butter and corn starch.

How to make such a cream?

In a medium bowl, whisk together five egg yolks, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of s alt.

Heat 2 cups cream and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat until the mixturewill start to boil. Slowly whisk the warmed cream with the egg yolk mixture. Take your time - if you do this too quickly, the eggs will boil and you'll have to start over.

Then pour the mixture back into the pot. Stir constantly until small bubbles on the surface begin to burst. In addition, the formation of lumps must be prevented.

Strain the cream into a large bowl. A metal sieve will remove all lumps and finally make sure that your cream is smooth and uniform.

Then put four tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of vanilla extract into the mixture. You can replace the extract with vanilla seeds for a richer and more intense flavor. You can also experiment with other extracts and flavors, such as almonds or coffee. Wrap a layer of cling film over the top of the cream and refrigerate until completely cold. The plastic film on the top of the dish prevents the formation of a crust on the surface. Of course, if you use the cream as an independent dessert, its dried surface, judging by the reviews, even seems tasty to many, but when it is supposed to be a filling in a custard cake (recipe at home), it is better to keep the cream homogeneous.

Chocolate frosting

The chocolate top looks very pretty and is easy to make with this custard recipe at home. For thisplace 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate drops or chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat 1/2 cup heavy cream over medium heat until it starts to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate.

Let the mixture stand for about five minutes. Then mix until smooth.

Custard cake - culinary recipes for dough

The most difficult thing in making custard cakes, judging by the reviews, is to make the right dough. Heat mixture: 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup uns alted butter, 2 tablespoons sugar over medium heat in a medium saucepan.

Once this mass reaches a boil, add one cup of flour at once. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, forming a ball in the center. Remove from heat and refrigerate for three minutes.

Stir and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat three large whole eggs and two additional large egg whites. Separate addition of proteins will allow the final product to dry and brown better. Obviously, no one wants to eat raw eclairs with wet dough. You can beat the eggs by hand with a wooden spoon or use a mixer (optional).

Shaping custard cakes - recipe

How to make beautiful eclairs? Use a large bag with a round cut in the corner or a piping bag with a thick nozzle to squeeze the dough intoparchment paper spread on a baking sheet. If you want to make homemade mini eclair choux pastries, make strips of dough no more than 5 cm long. For larger cakes, extrude 10-15cm pieces of dough. Then dampen your fingers with clean water and gently flatten the eclairs before baking.

Bake custard cakes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 10 minutes. The high temperature will help create a rapid steam buildup that makes the dough flaky. Reduce the heat to 150 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes, until the éclairs are crisp and golden brown.

Cut off one end of each cake with a knife. This allows the steam to escape and prevents the dough from becoming too wet. Cool items to room temperature. If you really want to make sure the dough is completely dry, you can put them back in the warm oven after turning it off. You can store empty eclairs in an airtight container for one day.

How to fill cakes

Use a bag with a small hole in the side or a pastry syringe to fill chilled cakes with cream. Dip the top of each brownie into the melted chocolate. You can add some melted white chocolate to create a pattern over the dark one, but this is not necessary. Classic custard (recipe at home) may also include sugar icing instead of chocolate.

Now it's time to show off your delicious creations to your friends and family. Once you've completely made your first eclairs yourself, you'll approach baking with a new level of confidence and feel ready for much bigger fantasies. And the reviews of the hostesses are proof of this.

How to complement the recipe

After you learn how to make a classic custard recipe at home, you can experiment in different ways. Try baking the dough in the shape of an egg, for example. In addition, you can make round cakes (profiteroles), which, if desired, can be used to make a Croquembush cake.

Helpful tips: what a beginner pastry chef needs to know

If you want to make brownies from scratch, always make the cream first, preferably the day before because it needs to cool completely before you start filling the dough.

Dough eclairs can be baked in advance. You should cool them completely and store them in a bag or plastic container with a closed lid. Care must be taken not to crush or flatten them. They can keep for several days, or you can freeze them for up to a month.

Eclairs are best eaten immediately when freshly filled with cream, but they continue to be delicious for a day or two. This, of course, also applies to tubes without cream, covered only with icing.

When a homemade custard recipe comes to usepossible flavors and toppings, you can get creative. Custard can be supplemented in various ways and ingredients: white, milk or dark chocolate, syrup, vanilla, instant coffee, caramel, pistachios, fresh raspberries. With a strong desire, you can come up with many variations. Same thing with a coating: the classic glaze is more familiar, but why not add some fresh, finely chopped fruit, nuts, or confectionery sprinkles to it? Cakes will look even more attractive and festive.