Last Updated on 21/12/2023 by Adina
These easy custard cream cookies are famous melt-in-your-mouth British double cookies filled with custard cream.
I bake these custard cream cookies quite often. This is a delicious reminder of when we lived in London, where I regularly bought this classic British product at the grocery stores. And the homemade custard cream recipe is so good. The cookies are delicate; they really melt in your mouth, and that custard filling is creamy and aromatic!
Try more of our delicious cookie or biscuit recipes: Apricot Cookies, Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Condensed Milk Cookies, Empire Biscuits, and Muesli Biscuits.
Jump to recipe
🥮What are custard creams?
They are a popular sandwich biscuit or cookie originating in the United Kingdom. They consist of two biscuits with a smooth, sweet, and creamy filling between them, typically flavored with vanilla.
The biscuits are made from plain flour, sugar, and butter, often with a distinctive pattern imprinted on the top.
The cookies are filled with a creamy custard buttercream filling. Custard creams are known for their slightly crunchy texture from the biscuits and the smooth, creamy center. They're commonly enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee.
🐤What is 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 created for people who wanted to avoid eggs, as most custards are thickened with eggs. The most popular brand is Bird's Custard Powder.
📋Recipe ingredients
- Regular cookie ingredients: All-purpose flour, fine sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and baking soda. The key ingredient is the custard powder.
- Filling ingredients: Unsalted butter, a little more custard powder, vanilla extract, and icing sugar.
- Equipment: Stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl and an electric mixer, two baking sheets, parchment paper, piping bag, and cooling rack.
👩🏻🍳How to make custard cream cookies?
Cream the soft butter and the icing sugar for about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and stir again.
In another bowl, mix flour, custard powder, and baking soda. Sift the dry ingredients over the creamed butter and mix well again.
Form about 28 walnut-sized balls. Score a pattern on the cookies using a fork. Bake and cool.
Beat the soft butter until creamy. Beat in icing sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Spoon or pipe the custard cream filling on the inner side of half of the biscuits. Cover each cookie with another one and press lightly.
🔊Expert Tips
Use a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) for measuring the ingredients when baking; it guarantees the best results.
Pattern: The classic custard creams you can buy are rolled using an embossed rolling pin. However, homemade custard cream cookies are easier to make. I used a fork to make a pattern on cookie dough balls. That pattern is optional; if you don't want that, lightly press the cookie dough balls to make them flatter and leave them plain.
Fan oven: You can bake both sheets of cookies together if you use a fan-forced oven. In this case, the temperature of the preheated oven should be 160°C/ 320°F.
Don't overbake; the biscuits should be only very lightly colored.
Using a piping bag to get the buttercream onto the cookies is best. Using a teaspoon works as well, but piping is faster and nicer. Make another kind of cookie with a creamy filling, these Argentinian Alfajores.
❓Recipe FAQ
Absolutely! You can experiment with different flavors for the biscuits or the cream filling. For instance, adding cocoa to the biscuit dough or incorporating other extracts (such as almond or lemon) into the filling can create unique variations.
Store the custard cream cookies in an airtight container; they will be ok for about one week.
Yes. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag, separating the layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They can generally be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.
🍰More British Christmas baking
Do you like this recipe?
Please leave a good rating in the recipe card below. Stay in touch through social media: Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag #whereismyspoon when you try a recipe!📖Recipe
Homemade Custard Cream Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment OR large bowl and electric mixer
- 2 Baking sheets
- Piping bag
Ingredients
Cookies (Note 1):
- 170 g unsalted butter room temperature, 6 oz/ ¾ cup
- 50 g fine sugar 1.7 oz/ ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 170 g all-purpose flour 6 oz/ 1 ⅓ cups
- 50 g custard powder 1.7 oz/ ½ cup, Note 2
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Filling:
- 50 g unsalted butter room temperature, 1.7 oz/ ¼ cup
- 75 g icing sugar 2.5 oz/ ¾ cup
- 2 tablespoons custard powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the soft butter and sugar; this should take about 3 minutes. Add vanilla essence and stir again.170 g unsalted butter/ ¾ cup +50 g fine sugar / ½ cup + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients: In another bowl, mix flour, custard powder, and baking soda. Sift this mixture over the creamed butter and mix well again.170 g all-purpose flour / 1 ⅓ cups +50 g custard powder / ½ cup + ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Form about 28 walnut-sized balls. Place them on the baking sheets, leaving a little room between them, as they will expand in the oven. Score a pattern on the cookies using a fork. Press once horizontally, then once vertically.
- Bake the cookie sheets, one after another, for about 15-16 minutes or until just very slightly golden (Note 3).
- Cool: Leave the custard creams on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling:
- Beat the soft butter until creamy. Slowly add the icing sugar and custard powder while beating continuously. Add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.50 g unsalted butter/ ¼ cup + 75 g icing sugar / ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons custard powder + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spoon or pipe the filling on the inner side of half of the cookies. Cover each cookie with another cookie and press lightly.
Notes
- Measurements: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab); it guarantees the best results.
- Custard powder: I use Bird's Custard Powder.
- Oven: You can bake two sheets of cookies simultaneously in a fan oven (preheated at 160°C/ 320°F)
Leave a Reply