An easy, Amish Baked Custard Recipe that will make you feel like you are at Grandma’s house again. Smooth & creamy, with just 6 ingredients.
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Baked Custard Recipe {Easy Amish Recipe}
I originally created this baked custard recipe for the Ohio Poultry Association. You can find the recipe and learn more about Ohio Eggs here.
My husband is extra-super in love with me right now. Comfort food is definitely one of his love languages and I’m hitting all the buttons lately. Homemade eggnog? He was in creamy Christmas heaven.
Now an old fashioned baked custard recipe? This potentially ranked higher than that special eggnog.
A simple custard recipe is one of those old-fashioned desserts that Matt grew up on. He remembers his grandma making a vanilla custard recipe, so my goal was to make an easy egg custard somewhat close to what his grandma’s used to be. Because we all know that Grandma’s food is the best food.
This baked custard recipe has just 6 ingredients. What seems like a tricky dessert to make was surprisingly easy. There’s just a few hints I will give you so that your custard has that creamy texture you remember from your childhood.
How to Make Baked Custard
- Scald the milk. This means you’ll heat the milk until it reaches 180 degrees, near boiling. Many old recipes call for this process. It is not necessary to scald milk for safety reasons any longer due to the pasteurization process. However, scalded milk does give the custard a little bit of a smoother texture, so I do recommend taking the time to scald the milk. I made the custard both ways and even my non-professional taste testing could tell that the scalded milk custard had a smoother texture. You can scald milk in the microwave or in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. You’ll watch for the milk to start steaming and bubbling around the edges. Stir the milk constantly to prevent a film forming on top of the milk. If you don’t have a thermometer to test the temperature, remove the milk from the heat right before it comes to a boil.
- Temper the eggs. You have near-boiling scalded milk. You’ll want to pour 1 cup of that milk ever so slowly into the eggs, whisking the entire time. It is so important to drizzle slowly and whisk constantly. If you don’t, you’ll end up with pieces of cooked eggs. Which is not going to make for a creamy custard.
- Bake the custard cups in a hot water bath. What does a hot water bath do? It prevents the custard from curdling or cracking. Egg-based desserts need to cook slowly at a low temperature to keep a creamy texture, and the hot water helps to do just that. How do you make a hot water bath? Put a pot of water on the stove over medium heat and bring it to simmering, not a rolling boil. Place the custard cups in a large baking pan with sides that are nearly as tall as the custard cups. Pour the hot water around the custard cups, being careful not to spill any water into the cups. You want the level of the hot water on the outside of the cup to be just at the level of the custard. Oh…and be careful when placing this heavy baking pan into the oven. Don’t let that water spill onto your custard mixture!
How Long To Bake Custard
The length of time you bake the custard may vary slightly based on the size and shape of the ramekins you use. The custard should be set around the edges, yet slightly jiggly in the center. A knife inserted in the center of the custard should come out clean. And if you want to? Test the temperature with a thermometer. It should read at about 170-175 degrees.
If you have someone in your life who loves old fashioned recipes, surprise them with this old fashioned baked custard recipe. See if it brings back memories of days with grandma.
Q: Did you ever have homemade custard when you were younger?
Baked Custard Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups 2% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs on medium-low speed for 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk gently until mixed.
- Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 1 minute increments until the temperature of the milk reaches 180 degrees.* Stir between each time interval to distribute the heat. Depending on the bowl and microwave you use, this will take about 5 minutes. Be sure not to let the milk boil.
- Remove 1 cup of the heated milk and slowly drizzle it into the egg mixture, whisking the eggs quickly the entire time.**
- Slowly pour the remainder of the milk over the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
- Beat with a hand mixer for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour the custard into 10 6-ounce ramekins, dividing the custard equally between the cups. There is no need to grease the ramekins.
- Place the ramekins in a 10x15” baking pan with sides about as tall as the ramekins.
- Sprinkle nutmeg overtop the custard.
- Heat about 10 cups of water, not quite to boiling but very hot, on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Pour the hot water into the pan around the ramekins, being careful not to get any of the water into the custard itself.
- Carefully place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The exact time may depend on the size and shape of the ramekins you use. The custard is done when you insert a knife into the center of a cup and it comes out clean.
- Serve cold or warm as desired, with whipped cream.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 10 custard cups, with 1 serving being 1 custard cup. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
December 16, 2016 at 10:16 pmThis custard looks amazing! I so appreciate all the little tips and tricks you gave. Definitely pinning for later, my family would love this!
Rich says
January 2, 2018 at 7:20 pmThe china restutrant has a dessert with this custard that comes in like a paper edible wrapper.do u know what that would be
Julie Clark says
January 3, 2018 at 6:24 amI’m not sure…I’ve never had it. Could it be something like this? http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27165/chinese-cheesecake
Anonymous says
September 1, 2018 at 12:14 pmRice paper
Miranda says
December 17, 2016 at 12:49 pmThis custard looks incredible! I love homemade custard!
Jackie says
January 12, 2017 at 6:25 pmCan you make this in another flavor?
Julie Clark says
January 14, 2017 at 7:02 amYou can switch up the extract for whatever flavor you’d like!
jeff howard says
May 22, 2017 at 7:45 amWill try this Amish backed custard looks just like mums when we had bread & butter custard pudding many years ago
Question I never thought that the Amish had microwaves
Julie Clark says
May 22, 2017 at 8:12 amThey may not have microwaves, but it is a shortcut for us who do have them. 🙂
Newaway says
August 3, 2018 at 11:09 amI was thinking the same thing lol Amish don’t have electricity. Mennonites do but not the Amish
Jessica says
October 13, 2017 at 6:33 pmThis is a fantastic recipe and the custard is so beautifully silky. I substituted milk for cream, though 🙂 Rather than using the microwave, I scalded the milk on the stove (a thin skin developed on top). What made this even more flavorful? In one variation I infused vanilla bean into the milk as it heated, and in the other, I added cardamom. I also added fresh berries in to the vanilla bean version. The kids wanted to eat the custards non-stop!
Julie Clark says
October 14, 2017 at 4:35 pmWonderful hints! Love the cardamom idea!
Violet Lemm says
October 28, 2017 at 8:40 pmLove the recipie , but would like to suggest that the dishes you use for baking, be placed in the pan you are using for water bath, THEN place on oven rack, before pouring in hot water. That pan gets mighty heavy. Just a word of caution.
Julie Clark says
October 29, 2017 at 3:35 pmGood idea!
Gary Schnabel says
April 15, 2018 at 4:49 pmGreat recipe, just like my mothers, quick to make, very good and easy, ad 2 drop’s yellow food color, makes it look rich.
Zhenlin says
December 30, 2017 at 3:48 pmAwesome recipe. The egg : milk ratio was perfect and created a super silky custard. Since we didn’t need 10 servings I divided all ingredients by 4 to use only 1 egg, and that worked superbly. No further adjustments necessary. For those who want a “creme brulee” effect, reduce the sugar in the original recipe by 4 Tbs, and use this sugar on top of the custard to create a caramel lid by grilling or flambeing it. A definite keeper! Thanks for sharing this recipe and for rescuing our new year eve celebrations 🙂
Julie Clark says
December 31, 2017 at 6:48 amThank you so much for your kind words and tips!! Happy new year!
Terry says
February 22, 2018 at 5:04 pmCan you make this in a baking dish ..not individual
Julie Clark says
April 18, 2018 at 6:47 pmYes…I’ll have to test it to get the baking time for you though. Stay tuned!
Sharon Davis says
September 7, 2018 at 2:04 pmCan you make this in a baking dish.
DT Heiner says
February 26, 2018 at 12:46 pmI made some custard last week using cornstarch. It just was not like Grandmas. This I will have to try. I remember my Grandmother using the water bath in the oven. I am 70 an will make this today Double thanks. Now I don’t have to go through my mothers two boxes of recipes to find grandmas.
sharon says
February 26, 2018 at 10:25 pmhow do I incorporate mashed bananas into a baked custard? How many would be used for this recipe? Thankyou Sharon
Julie Clark says
February 27, 2018 at 8:42 amHmmm…I have not ever tried that so I’m not sure. Here is one that is just made on the stovetop and not in the oven: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/banana-custard-pudding
Anonymous says
April 11, 2018 at 4:09 pmWhat is custard supposed to taste like? I tried this recipe today and it tasted like cooked egg white with sugar.
Rich Staeb says
June 21, 2018 at 11:11 amHi Julie, I was searching on the web for a Huckleberry custard like my grandmom used to make. I came across your egg custard and wondered if it would be difficult to add the huckleberries to the process. I want to make a pie and wondered how many I should add to the mix and at what stage in the process. It has been almost 70 years since I last had a bite of one of them custards. Any ideas?
Julie Clark says
June 21, 2018 at 5:12 pmHmmm…I’m really not sure! I’d probably add the berries right before baking, but I’ve not tried anything like it. It sounds amazing though! <3
Pam says
September 5, 2018 at 2:12 pmCan you use this same recipe to make a “custard pie”?
How long would you suggest to bake it and what temperature?
Thanks,
Pam
Julie Clark says
September 6, 2018 at 7:53 amI think you could, but I haven’t test it. It’s actually on my list to do. For a pie, I might try upping the temperature to maybe 400 degrees F, then baking for the same amount of time and testing it to see if it is done or not. I think it would be “softer” than a traditional custard pie, but I do think it would work!
Geraldine w. c. says
October 20, 2018 at 8:43 pmThis is the best my family loves it and I get many compliments. I follow the recipe except I decrease the sugar to 1/4 cup. I strain the mixture as I’m pouring it into my baking dish. It’s so smooth and taste like a very expensive desert.
Susan says
February 27, 2019 at 7:36 amI strained mine also for that silky smooth texture, but also to get rid of all that froth from using the electric mixture (even on low) for the specified time. Great recipe, will do again. It isn’t quite sweet enough for me, so a pour just a little real maple syrup over the top—almost tastes like flan with caramelized sugar. YUM.
Craig T Metzger says
March 17, 2019 at 11:11 amGreat recipe, the flavor is great and it is fairly simple. I almost didn’t try it though.When I was looking up custard recipes I used keywords like ‘old fashioned’, ‘Grandma’ and ‘Amish’. This was one of the first results provided. But when I saw the use of a microwave and 2% milk, I was very skeptical. My grand mother did not own a microwave and only used whole milk. Likewise, most of the Amish I knew only used whole milk and would never use a microwave. Not to mentioned anything old fashioned using a microwave isn’t very old fashioned. Still, I tried it and it is good, I will continue looking for a more authentic ‘old fashioned’ recipe.
Gay Stephen says
March 23, 2019 at 2:41 pmIl have made this several times, easy, good, especially for the aged.
BOBBY D PARNELL says
May 1, 2019 at 10:56 pmSo I just made this for about the dozenth time. Such an easy but oh so satisfying recipe. Thank you!