Best Custard Creams Recipes

HOME-MADE CUSTARD CREAMS

Steps:

• Cream sugar and margarine, then fold in flour, custard powder and vanilla essence until a roll-able dough is formed. Alternatively combine all ingredients in a food processor, and then by hand form the dough.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
• Flour a surface and roll out dough to roughly 1/2 cm thickness. Then cut out shapes, ensuring there is a duplicate of each shape you cut.
• Place shapes on a baking tray covered in baking parchment (or greased and floured), ensuring that one of each pair is put on upside down (i.e. flipped over, rather than rotated). Place in oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
• Blend the icing sugar and margarine, and then use to fill the custard creams once they are cool. Place a bit on the bottom (i.e. non-smooth side) of the first biscuit, then push the bottom of the first biscuit's pair onto this. Don't force together as otherwise the filling will just explode out the sides! Leave to set in a container or eat there and then.

CUSTARD CREAMS

Steps:

• Make the biscuits:
• Sift the flour, custard powder, powdered sugar, and baking soda into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Slowly add the butter, one cube at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time and continue to mix until a smooth dough is formed.
• Remove the dough from the fridge 15 minutes before rolling it out, and preheat the oven to 325°F/170°C/150°C fan/Gas Mark 3. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to roughly ⅛-inch/3mm thick. Use a 6cm pastry cutter to cut 20 rounds from the dough, and transfer the rounds to two baking sheets lined with baking parchment, leaving 1cm between the rounds. Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes. They will look slightly golden, but it's important that they don't take on much colour. Allow the biscuits to cool on the sheets for a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the filling and assemble:
• Meanwhile, put the butter and powdered sugar for the filling into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until smooth, then add the vanilla paste and beat again. Scrape down the sides and continue to mix until the vanilla is incorporated. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a disposable piping bag. Cut a ½ cm hole in the pointed end of the piping bag and pipe spirals of the icing on 10 of the biscuits, leaving ½cm between the filling and the outside edge of the biscuit. Carefully place an un-iced biscuit on top of an iced one and repeat with the remaining iced and un-iced biscuits - there will be 10 filled custard creams in total.
• Store in an airtight container in a cool spot for up to 5 days.

RHUBARB & ROSE CUSTARD CREAMS WITH CRYSTALLISED PETALS

Steps:

• Place the rhubarb, 50g of the sugar, lemon juice, rose water and 2 tbsp water in a pan. Slowly cook over a gentle heat for 10-15 mins until the rhubarb has broken up. Continue cooking, stirring gently, until you have a thick compote. Add caster sugar to taste, but leave tasting a little sharp. Let cool. Divide compote between 6 ramekins and chill in the fridge.
• In a saucepan, heat the cream and vanilla pod and seeds. Remove from the heat just before boiling point, allow to infuse for 5 mins, then remove the pod.
• In a large bowl, beat the yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and, while still whisking, pour over the hot cream, whisk well, then strain through a sieve into a clean jug. Let cool to room temperature. Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Remove ramekins from the fridge and pour the custard over the compote. Put ramekins in a large deep baking tray and pour in enough water to come halfway up the ramekins. Put the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 30 mins until you can see a slight wobble. Remove ramekins from the tray and chill for at least 2 hrs or preferably overnight.
• For the rose petals, mix the egg white with 3 tbsp water. Using a fine paintbrush, carefully brush the petals with the egg white, then lightly dust with the sugar. Place on baking trays lined with baking parchment and sit somewhere warm, an airing cupboard is ideal. Alternatively, once you have finished cooking, place trays in the warm oven and keep the door ajar. Leave the petals overnight or until they have completely dried out. They will keep well in an airtight jar for a few weeks. Serve the custards scattered with the crystallised petals.