Magic Custard Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my custard not thickening? ›

Keep an eye on the heat when cooking the custard - too low and it won't thicken, too high and you'll have scrambled eggs.

Using a Thickening Agent

For 1 cup (240 mL) of custard, use 2 tablespoons (17 g) of flour mixed with 4 tablespoons (59 mL) of cold water. Add the mixture into your custard ingredients as they cook on the stove. Use cornstarch as an alternative to flour. Cornstarch, like flour, requires cold water as a mixing agent.

Place plastic wrap directly onto the custard in the bowl to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool in the fridge to thicken slightly, about 1 hour.

Place pie plate in a large shallow baking dish, and fill with boiling water to come halfway up side of pie plate. Place in oven and bake until custard is set, about 1 hour.

The most common mistake people make with custards is that they tend to overcook them. Custards need to come out of the oven just before they're completely cooked because they will continue baking even after you take them out of the oven.

Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Stirring distributes the heat so the custard doesn't become too hot, which can curdle it. Draw a finger across the back of the spoon and if it leaves a trail, your custard is ready.

However if the proteins are overcooked, either by using a temperature that is too high or just cooking for too long, then the proteins will come together so tightly that they will start to squeeze out water and this causes the weeping in an egg custard (or the scientific term for this is syneresis).

Heat the custard gently and stir in the cornflour mix little by little, it should thicken up as it comes to the boil and the extra cornflour should help stabilise it. Let it blip away for a minute or two to cook the cornflour. Gentle heat is the key.

Measure out 3/4 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin for every cup of milk or cream in your pudding. This will set it gently, without creating the characteristically rubbery texture associated with gelatin.

Custard powder is loaded with several vitamins and minerals, including Calcium, iron, and Phosphorus. Moreover, for bone health and oral health, calcium is the key strengthening element. Plus, it helps in preventing osteoporosis in women.

What is ultra mel custard? ›

Ultra Mel is a versatile, mouth-wateringly creamy custard that can be served hot or cold over any pudding or dessert - separately or as an ingredient.

One way to combat a custard that will not set is to reboil it. If you thought your custard was thickening up, and then refrigerated it to let it set, only to find that it had thinned out, simply pour the custard base back into a pot and cook it more (via Crafty Baking).

Be careful not to overprocess or you can wind up with irreparably thin, watery custard. Don't use a blender or food processor; they incorporate too much air and will leave the mixture frothy, not creamy.

If you notice lumps beginning to form in a custard, immediately pour it out of the hot pot into a bowl and pulse it with a handheld blender in five-second intervals until it is nearly smooth. This can take from 15 to 45 seconds, depending on how big the lumps are.

If the custard gets too thick after chilling, loosen it with a little boiled and cooled milk. If needed, dissolve some sugar in the hot milk, allow it to cool down fully before adding it in.

But when you overcook a custard, suddenly the connection is very, very clear. A nasty eggy taste takes up residence and won't go away. That's likely the result of heat breaking down the protein components cysteine and methionine to release sulphur, says Crosby.

It is slightly thicker after being refrigerated overnight, but the texture is not good... not lovely and smooth (as in the photo at Bird's web site), but soupy with clumps.