Making custard at home is a really great option. You can be guaranteed that it is sugar-free and free of all other nasties – something I am very particular about when feeding my son.
This is an easy custard recipe and baby will love it. Stir though a little pureed fruit for a natural sweeter or simply enjoy as is. For older children or for babies 12 months plus, you could add a little maple syrup to sweeten.
This custard is suitable for babies 4 months plus – just be sure to try the ingredients individually beforehand to be sure of no allergies.
Enjoy x
Some other Custard options for you
1. Vanilla Bean Custard
2. Rhubarb Custard
3. Lavender Custard
4. Coconut Custard with Caramelised Pineapple
5. Mango & Passionfruit Custard
Vanilla Custard - Sugar Free for Baby
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (whipping cream for my US friends. It should have a minimum fat content of 35 percent)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 heaped teaspoon cornflour
- 1/2 vanilla bean (or use vanilla paste)
Instructions
- Add milk & cream to a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add to saucepan along with the vanilla bean pod.
- Bring milk mixture to ALMOST boiling (don't let it boil). Remove vanilla bean pod.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and cornflour to combine
- While whisking, slowly add milk mixture to the eggs
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook on low heat while continuously stirring until the custard thickens. Once ready it should coat the back of the spoon
- Serve warm or cold
For Coconut Custard with Caramelised Pineapple
- Substitute coconut cream for the cream in above recipe and omit the vanilla bean
- Slice and chop fresh pineapple. Add a little oil to frying pan and cook pineapple pieces over medium heat until you active a nice golden colour. I chopped the pineapple into smaller pieces after cooking but you could also puree for a smoother consistency
- Add pineapple to cooked custard and serve
For Lavender Custard
- Add 1 teaspoon of lavender (available from specialist food stores) to the milk mixture in the above recipe and omit the vanilla bean. Once custard has cooked, strain and discard lavender
For Rhubarb Custard
- Chop rhubarb and add to a saucepan along with enough water to come approximately half way up the rhubarb. Cook until tender.
- Stir through cooked vanilla custard and serve
For Mango & Passionfruit Custard
- Dice Mango and add a blender along with the passionfruit pulp. Blend to your desired consistency. Stir through cooked vanilla custard and serve
Notes
Big H enjoying his custard. He gets very excited feeding himself – its messy business though!
I can’t wait to give this one a go! Thank you Xx
Great Sam. Let me know how you go. Harrison just loves it. Especially with a little fruit added.
Hey I made the baby custard today :) I’m just wondering how long it will last in the fridge in sealed containers? Thank you :)
Whoops just found the answer. Haha thanks
No problem Tasha. I’m so happy you made it and it worked out well. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi, can this be frozen at all?
Thanks
Hi Usha, I have never tried freezing it, I’m not sure how it would defrost. It may be ok. You could possibly try a small amount and then warm gently to defrost. I may give it a go myself.
I made this custard and my little girl who loved it. I love that I know whats in it unlike the store bought variety.
I feel the exact same way Sarah xx
Hi .. I made the recipe up, but mine seemed to curdle a little … is that ok, or should I give it another go ?
Hi Glen, often over cooking can cause it to curdle or not continually stirring. It is still safe to eat but the texture may be a little off. To save it you could try giving it a quick whizz in a blender but a new batch might be best. Remember also when heating the milk mixture to not let it boil. It should be almost boiling – but not! Hope that helps. xx
Hi, what milk did you use as they advise not to give baby cows milk before 1 year.
Hi Desire, good question. I was informed that it is fine to give babies cows milk when used in cooking. It isn’t a suitable substitute for breast milk or formula until 12 months of age but for the purpose of cooking, such as custards and cereals it is fine to use. I’m going off what is recommended in Australia and I know it varies quite a bit from country to country.
How do you thicken the cream?
Hi Jen, in Australia we call whipping cream thickened cream. It is cream with a thickener and has minimum fat content of 35 percent.
Just wondering if anyone has tried freezing this recipe yet? Keen to give it a go!
Hi Patrice, no I’m not sure. I really must try it myself because I get asked quite a bit. xx
Can this be frozen and if so what’s the best way to defrost it?
Just made a batch…….yummy!!,
Hi Natalie, so glad you like it. I get asked this question a lot so I should try freezing it myself but I never have. I’m not sure how it would go as I think custard tend to seperate when defrosted. If you want to try it, defrost it in the fridge slowly and it may be ok. Let me know how you go. xx
How many serves do you get from this recipe?
Hi Jenelle, it makes about a cup and a half. You could halve the recipe if you think this is too much. Hope that helps. xx
Also, with the vanilla, you say to scrape out the seeds and put in the pan with the bean. So I just want to clarify, I’m putting the bean AND the seeds in the saicepan? Do they dissolve or how do I get rid of them when custard is complete?
Yes scrape out the seeds and also add the vanilla bean pod to the milk mixture (this will make sure you get as many of those gorgeous seeds and vanilla flavour as in there as possible). Once you are ready to combine with the egg mixture remove the vanilla bean pod. You will see all the little black vanilla seeds in the milk mixture, they don’t dissolves so you will see tiny black seeds in the mixture – it’s expected when you use real vanilla. You can however use extract if you prefer.
Ps. If this helps I regularly freeze fruit & yoghurt puree and pop it in the fridge the day before and it’s fine do I imagine custard would be too.
Good to know Jenelle, I have never tried freezing custard so I can’t answer for certain. If you give it a go, I’d love to know how it went. xx
Hi!
Is this ok to freeze? Sounds yummy and you can’t buy sugar free.
Hi Allisha, I get asked this question so often that I really must try freezing it myself. I promise to test it out this weekend and update the recipe if it is possible. Sorry I can’t answer right now but stay tuned. Xx
Hi. My son is 7 months, what age is the vanilla custard good for? Also could i use formula instead of cows milk?
Hi Danielle, I gave it to my son from 6 months old. He had tried cows milk (in cooking) already and didn’t have any reactions, so I felt comfortable using it. I see no issue using formula though.
Has anyone tried freezing this custard yet?
Hi Hannah, yes! I tried it myself the other day. I made a full batch and froze what was left in small glass jars. I let it defrost in the fridge and it was a slightly grainy consistency so I thought it was not going to work out. I heated it slowly in a saucepan and it was fine though. So yes you can freeze it. I was surprised!
Can i add just organic vanilla bean extract? Thanks xx
Yes definitely. I use extract when I don’t have fresh vanilla beans. Xx
The first time i made this recipe it came out beautifully smooth and yummy, although my husband and I thought it was a little too creamy and my hubby suggested upping the egg yolks.
It is also good to note that the custard does firm up further once removed from heat and in a bowl.
The second time I went to make this recipe I doubled the egg yolk and roughly kept the other ingredients the same, i tried to also make a bigger batch. Not sure what happened the next time, it was much thicker and got thick quickly, it also ended up with a layer on top once I pit it in containers and little bubbles in it.
Any advice?
I haven’t tried doubling the eggs myself but that would make it very thick. Also make sure you don’t let the milk boil, that tends to cause all sorts of problems to the texture. You could try adding less cream to reduce the creaminess if you like and just add more milk.
My 10 monthgirl loves it. I made 3 batches today. And added mashedup/puree banana to it. I know it won’t last long as I can see my hubby and my 4year old would be scoffing it down. Just damn the vanilla beans/paste is expensive. I think I have to use the extract one next time
I’m glad they both love it Sarah, yes fresh vanilla beans and paste is expensive, but you are right use extract next time, it also works a treat.
Ive made custard 4 times now using a whole bunch of different recipes, and it doesn’t seem to thicken as expected I.e I’m looking for thickness similar to the baby custard ones you get from supermarket. Are my expectations wrong? If not, what can I be doing wrong. I hear the milk until I just start seeing bubbles, then after combined with eggs, I have been heating on the smallest burner, on smallest heat for about 15 minutes. Any advice would be great.
Hi Aneta, apologies for the delayed reply. We moved to Italy so my blog has been very neglected. The only thing I can think of is your milk is not getting hot enough. I has to be ‘almost’ boiling so just little bubbles isn’t enough. You could add a tiny bit more cornflour or an extra egg yolk if you like it extra thick also.
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like an amazing move to Italy! I hope you’ve settled in okay. Roughly how quickly should it thicken after combining everything together?
Thank you so much Aneta, we are loving it here. It should start to thicken pretty quickly. Within a minute or so.
Love love all these recipes my kids enjoy it better than store Brought always asking for seconds even us parents lol so thank you for sharing deffs gonna keep at it an it actually saves me alot of money aswell ☺️
I’m so happy to hear that Jess, thank you for the feedback.
Is cornflour and cornstarch the same? I wanted to try this but usually we use starch to thicken it… thank you
Hi Seli, yes they are the same thing. I hope it worked well for you.