When some of us hear custard we think of cooking it on a stove top and setting it in the fridge or freezer. Nigerian custard making is different and easy, less complicated and less fuss needed.
For some people, making custard gives them bad memories or simply just stress them out. For me, making custard the Nigerian way can be a hit or miss sometimes. If you are not careful, it can be a miss every time and you will end up with big bowl of coloured “semi-thick” water. Oh and if that is the last custard in the house that you just wasted/spoiled, then you are in big trouble lol because now everyone needs to look for alternative (side) meal for the day lol, this is usually not funny, it always doesn’t end well.
Custard making has gone wrong when you keep adding hot water and it doesn’t thicken or set. Depending on how much hot water you have added, you can save it by transferring it into a sauce pan and placing it on a stove top and continuously stir it until it thicken or set (sometime, this method doesn’t work). Another way to know the custard has gone wrong is when enough room temperature water wasn’t used to mix the custard powder before adding the hot water, the custard will become lumpy (“have seed”). Finding the perfect measure is the key to successfully making custard.
This custard recipe is fool-proof! It is straight to the point, you will never get it wrong again (pinky promise). It took me a while to nail it too, just like most people. I know some people who don’t take custard simply because they can’t make it.
There are 2 colours of custard that I know of; the Yellowish / Orangish looking kind, like the one in this post and the pink looking kind. They both taste the same, food colouring is used to change the colour. They have several flavours as well like vanilla, banana, strawberry (these are the 3 I know of). The most common flavour is the vanilla flavour. The flavours are usually mild and not overpowering.
The best part, custard goes perfectly with a lot of legume dishes such as Stewed Bean, Akara (beans Frittata), moi-moi (Beans Pudding / Beans Cake) or even fried eggs with bread. You can also have the custard by itself. For me, custard is better sweetened and you can go crazy. From using sugar or honey or adding any fruit combo (berries, banana, apples, pineapples, peaches, etc) you love. Add milk (powdered or liquid) if you like milk as much as I do. Just have fun with it.
With Love, B!
Custard – The Nigerian Style
Custard is usually eaten with moi-moi (beans pudding), akara (beans frittata), egs and bread
- Bowl
- Kettle
- Spatula or Spoon
- 1 cup Custard Powder
- 1 cup Water (Room Temperature)
- Kettle full of water (boiled (bubbling))
In a bowl add the custard powder and add in the room temperature water and mix until it is thoroughly combined.
Now slowly pour in the boiled water, very slowly while mixing the custard with a spoon or spatula. So, the gist is, mix and pour hot water simultaneously (at the same time), until the mixture thickens, then stop.
Mix it and make sure it is properly incorporated and there are no lumps.
Check the consistency, if it is too thick, add a little hot water at a time and mix until it is the consistency you want.
This can be sweetened with sugar, honey, fruits, with milk (powder, evaporated, etc).
It can be served alone or with an beans dish such as stewed beans, akara (beans fritters), moi-moi (beans pudding / cake), bread (with fried eggs),etc
Enjoy
With Love, B!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @BawosKitchenJournal on Instagram and hashtag it #WithLoveBawo & #BawosKitchenJournal.
I need to give this a try, I can’t seem to get custard right!!!
So simple