Vanilla custard

Custard is a pillar of pastry making, one of the basic preparations. 

Traditional custard is made with milk, sugar, egg yolks, starches and flavoring.

In this recipe, part of the milk is replaced with cream to make it more velvety and creamy. A mix of corn starch and rice to have both structure and creaminess. A pinch of turmeric to give a light yellow color as the egg yolks are not used. A small % of margarine to give structure and fat to the cream, and finally lecithin which works as an emulsifier to replace the yolk.  

Method

In a bowl, weigh caster sugar, corn starch, rice starch, lecithin and turmeric powder and mix with a whisk.

Cut the vanilla pod, extract the seeds and add them to the vegetable milk and cream. Then gradually pour the milk and cream with the vanilla over the powders, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Blend with an immersion blender to thoroughly dissolve the lecithin that may have created lumps.

Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and cook the custard over a low heat. During cooking, mix continuously with a whisk and bring to a temperature of around 85°, you will immediately notice a change in consistency and the cream will begin to thicken.  

Then remove the saucepan from the heat and let the cream cool to around 60°, at this point add the cold diced margarine and mix or blend with an immersion blender. 

Then transfer the custard into a container and cover with cling film, so that it does not form any skin, and leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours. 

When the custard has completely cooled, it will have become denser and more structured and will therefore be ready to be used. Then store it inside the covered container or transfer it into a piping bag in the fridge.