Custard

Custard is a sweet dessert made from a combination of milk or cream, egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and flavourings such as vanilla essence. Depending on how much thickener is added, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce or Crème Anglaise, to a thick blancmange like that used for vanilla slice.

Custard is an important part of dessert recipes originating in many countries including England, France, Italy and Australia. Recipes involving custard include:

• English trifle
• Custard tarts
• Creme caramel
• Danish pastry
• Vanilla slice.
• Zabaglione
• Floating islands
• Crème brûlée
• Frozen custard
• Ice cream

Most custard is cooked in a double boiler or heated very gently on the stove in a saucepan, but custard can also be steamed or baked in the oven in a steam bath or bain-marie.

Not all custards are sweet. The filling for a traditional quiche is made from a savoury custard incorporating cheese for flavouring.

See Wikipedia Cookbook for recipes