An easy custard creams recipe, the popular, melt-in-your-mouth British double cookies filled with custard cream.
I bake this custard creams recipe quite often. A delicious reminder of the time we used to live in London, where I use to buy these biscuits on a regular basis. They are not something I could ever buy in Germany, so I had to make them myself.
And the homemade version is so good. Even better than I remember. The cookies are delicate, they really melt in your mouth and that custard filling is creamy and aromatic!
And if you like sandwiched cookies, you could try the Argentinian Alfajores or the German Spitzbuben.
What do you need to make custard biscuits?
Regular cookie ingredients: flour, icing sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda.
The extra ingredient is the custard powder.
Custard powder is a powdered mix used to make custard. It consists of corn starch, vanilla flavoring, and yellow food color and it is usually cooked with milk until thickened. The powder was originally created for people who wanted to avoid eggs, as most custards are thickened with eggs. The most popular brand is Bird’s (Amazon affiliate link).
Tips for making custard creams
Use a kitchen scale for measuring the ingredients when baking, it guarantees the best results.
I used a fork to make a pattern on the custard biscuits. That is optional, if you don’t want that, just press the cookie dough balls lightly to make them a little flatter and leave them plain.
You can bake both trays of cookies together if you use a fan forced oven. In this case, the temperature of the preheated oven should be of 160 degrees Celsius/ 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don’t ovebake, the biscuits should be only very lightly colored.
It is best to use a piping bag to get the buttercream onto the cookies. Using a teaspoon works as well, but piping is faster and nicer.
How to store?
The custard cream biscuits keep for about one week in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from www.christinascucina.com.
More cookies:
- German Hazelnut Macarons – Nussmakronen
- Condensed Milk Cookies
- Cranberry Oatmeal Walnut Cookies
- Almond Cookies without Eggs
- Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanuts
Custard Creams Recipe
Ingredients
- Cookies:
- 170 g unsalted butter 6 oz/ ¾ cup, room temperature
- 50 g sugar 1.7 oz/ ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 170 g all-purpose flour 6 oz/ 1 1/3 cups
- 50 g custard powder 1.7 oz/ ½ cup, for instance Bird's Custard Powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Filling:
- 50 g unsalted butter 1.7 oz/ ¼ cup, room temperature
- 75 icing sugar 2.6 oz/ ¾ cup
- 2 tablespoons custard powder
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Cream the soft butter and the icing sugar together, taking about 3 minutes. Next, add vanilla essence and stir again.
- Mix: In another bowl, mix the flour, custard powder, and baking soda. Sift this mixture over the creamed butter and mix well again.
- Form about 28 walnut-sized balls. Place them on the baking trays leaving a little room in between, as they will expand while in the oven.
- Score a pattern on the cookies using a fork. Press once horizontally, then once vertically.
- Bake the trays with the cookies, one after another, for about 15-16 minutes or until just very slightly golden. Remove from the oven, leave on the tray for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling:
- Beat the soft butter until creamy. Slowly add the icing sugar while beating continuously. Add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
- Fill cookies: Spoon or pipe the filling on the inner side of half of the cookies. Cover each cookie with another cookie and press lightly (Note 2).
- Store: The custard creams keep in an airtight container for about one week.
Notes
- A digital kitchen scale will give you the most precise measure ensuring the best bake possible.
- It is best to use a piping bag to get the buttercream onto the cookies. Using a teaspoon works as well, but piping is faster and nicer.