Egg-free custard is a clever recipe when you're in the mood for dessert, but there’s basically nothing in the pantry. It’s a quick recipe using only milk, sugar and flour. You can use it for cakes and cookies, or you could make delicious parfaits with cream, fresh fruit, dried fruit, grains, cookies or anything else you can think of!
Similar to cooked milk
Custard without eggs is almost a variety of cooked milk because the main ingredient is milk, to which you’ll add a sweetener (i.e. sugar) and a thickener (i.e. flour or starch). Needless to say, the milk should be good quality – ideally fresh whole milk. If you want, you can also use cream for a more full-bodied result with more intense flavor. And if you’re vegan, check out our advice for a version of the recipe below – made especially for you!
The recipe for custard without eggs
To make custard without eggs, heat 2 cups of milk in a saucepan with a stick of vanilla or the rind of half a lemon. (Watch out for the white part of the lemon inside; it’s very bitter and should not be used at all!) Add 80 g sugar and let it melt with the heat turned off. Remove the vanilla or lemon peel and add 2 ½ cups of well-sifted flour. Stir quickly using a hand whisk and return the saucepan to the stove, continuing to cook for a few minutes over very low heat. Stir continuously with a whisk until the cream is ready.
Gluten-free custard
We’ve been talking about flour until now, but you can replace it with potato starch if you want a lighter texture or a gluten-free variety. Rice flour and specific gluten-free flours are also good, but always remember to sift them well and add them to the hot milk with the heat turned off. And remember, always stir with a hand whisk!
How to avoid lumps
Even in custard without eggs, you need to avoid the possible formation of lumps because, as we said, the flour must be sifted well. Plus, you have to add it and mix it quickly; otherwise, it will cook too quickly. If the custard does cook too quickly, despite following all our instructions, use an immersion blender to get things evened out.
Vegan custard
To make vegan custard, you’ll also need to replace the milk with vegetable milk and the sugar with whole-wheat cane sugar. Among the different types of vegetable milk, we recommend the sweeter and tastier ones like almond or coconut milk. Oats and rice are great, too – but these are also very delicate. Soy milk is always good, but only if you love its taste… It’s much more intense than the other options.
Yellow custard – but without the eggs!
To make a yellow custard without eggs, there is only one solution: you have to color it. To do this, you don't have to use food coloring; simply use naturally colored powders such as turmeric, which doesn't have a strong taste and therefore doesn't cover up the taste of the milk. Even saffron colors can add a yellow tint, but be careful not to use too much of it. The smell can be a little strong.
Chocolate custard
Once the custard is ready, make it chocolate-flavored by simply adding two tablespoons of cocoa to the mixture while it’s still hot. Or add 4 oz melted dark chocolate to the custard instead. With both a chocolate custard and a white custard, you can make cups with two colors – or you could use them as a frosting for different layers of cake… A cake without eggs, obviously!