Custard creams
Custard creams are a classic biscuit in the UK. They’re a delicious crumbly biscuit sandwiched with custard flavoured buttercream icing, and this easy recipe means you can make them at home.
These easy homemade custard creams are perfect with a cup of tea. They’re a beautiful crumbly biscuit filled with a custard flavoured buttercream, and a classic biscuit to have in any biscuit tin. Once you’ve tried this easy recipe you’ll never want shop bought ones again!
What is a custard cream?
Custard creams are one of the UK’s most popular biscuits. A buttery, vanilla flavoured biscuit sandwiched together with a custard flavoured buttercream. They’ve been around for over one hundred years, and are easy to find in any supermarket.
The traditional biscuit has an elaborate design printed on them. It’s possible to find biscuit presses to make these but our version is much simpler, although still delicious.
How can kids help to make custard creams?
Custard creams are a great recipe for kids to help with. There are a lot of easy steps that even young children or toddlers can get involved with.
The biscuits themselves are one of the simplest things you can make with your kids. Once you’ve measured and mixed all the ingredients to make the biscuit dough your kids can help roll pieces in their hands to make the biscuits and press them down with a fork.
Kids can also help sandwich two biscuits together with the cream icing filling. It’s a fun job, that even if your children haven’t helped make the biscuits, can do.
How do you store custard creams?
These biscuits will keep in an air tight container for 3-5 days. If you want to keep them for longer, you can freeze them, either before you’ve added the icing, or after. Wrap them individually in cling film / glad wrap and pop them in a freezer bag. Once frozen, they’ll keep for a few months.
What can I use instead of self raising flour?
If you don’t have any self raising flour (it’s popular here in the UK, but less so in other countries), you can swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt.
What other easy biscuits can I make?
If you enjoy making these custard creams, why not try one of our other simple kids’ biscuits?
Easy cookie recipe for kids
Gingerbread men
Chocolate thumbprint cookies
Custard biscuits
Empire biscuits
Melting moments
Jammie dodgers
Iced biscuits
Bourbon biscuits
Raisin biscuits
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these custard creams biscuits:
Digital scales
Baking tray
Measuring cups
Wooden spoons
Palette knife
Wire rack
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Ingredients
For the biscuits
175g (¾ cup) caster sugar
140g (2/3 cup) butter
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
225g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour
85g (¾ cup) custard powder
For the custard cream filling
150g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar
75g (1/3 cup) butter
3 tablespoons custard powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
A splash of milk
How to make custard creams
Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and line 2-3 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar
Get your kids to measure out the sugar and butter and add them to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. The butter needs to be soft so that it mixes in so if yours isn’t cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so, until it has softened (but not long enough to melt it).
Using the k-paddle of your mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons, beat the butter and sugar until it is nice and smooth.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract
To separate the egg yolk from the egg white, have a small bowl under your egg when you crack it. Tip the egg yolk from one half of your egg shell to the other, letting the egg white fall into the bowl below.
When all the egg white or as much of it as possible has been removed from the yolk, tip the egg yolk into your mixing bowl.
Now, add the vanilla. If your kids are still quite young, you might need to hold the spoon while they pour in the vanilla or vice versa. Older children should be able to do this themselves.
Mix the egg white and vanilla into your creamed butter/sugar mixture.
Add the flour and custard powder
Get your kids to measure out the flour and custard powder and add them to your mixing bowl. Mix it all in, so it comes together nicely in a ball of biscuit dough.
You might need to go in with your hands at the end to bring it all together fully.
Make the custard cream biscuits
Roll small pieces of dough (the size of a walnut or teaspoon’s worth) into round balls. Place on your prepared baking trays, leaving space between them for spreading. I find it works best if I give the kids the right amount of dough, and they roll it, otherwise the biscuits all end up different sizes.
Press the biscuits down a little with your hands or a fork. If your kids are too young to help rolling the balls, this is a great step for them to help with instead. Or if you have more than one child helping you, give one the job of rolling the balls while the other does the flattening.
If you can, make an even number of biscuits so you don’t have any odd ones left over later.
Chill your trays for 10 minutes or so.
Bake the custard cream biscuits
Bake the biscuits in the oven for around 12 minutes. They’re ready when they have started to turn a little golden brown at the edges.
Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave them to cool on their baking trays for a few minutes, before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the custard buttercream centre
Measure the icing sugar, butter, custard powder and vanilla extract out and add them to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. Add a splash of milk.
Using a hand held mixer or the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, mix the icing together. Start very slowly and put a clean tea towel over the top if you can, to stop it getting too messy. Once the icing sugar has mixed in, you can turn the speed up and leave it mixing for a few minutes until it is nice and fluffy.
Spoon or pipe the custard cream filling onto the base of a biscuit, and spread it to the edges with the back of a spoon or a small palette knife. Top with another biscuit.
Serve and enjoy.
Custard creams
Equipment
- Digital scales
- baking tray
- Measuring cups
- Wooden spoons
- Palette knife
- Piping bag
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 175 g (¾ cup) caster sugar
- 140 g (⅔ cup) butter
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 225 g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour
- 85 g (¾ cup) custard powder
For the custard cream filling
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) icing sugar
- 75 g (⅓cup) butter
- 3 tablespoons custard powder
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- A splash of milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and line 2-3 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar
- Measure out the sugar and butter and add them to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. The butter needs to be soft so that it mixes in so if yours isn't cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so, until it has softened (but not long enough to melt it).Using the k-paddle of your mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons, beat the butter and sugar until it is nice and smooth.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract
- To separate the egg yolk from the egg white, have a small bowl under your egg when you crack it. Tip the egg yolk from one half of your egg shell to the other, letting the egg white fall into the bowl below.When all the egg white or as much of it as possible has been removed from the yolk, tip the egg yolk into your mixing bowl.
- Now, add the vanilla. Mix the egg white and vanilla into your creamed butter/sugar mixture.
Add the flour and custard powder
- Measure out the flour and custard powder and add them to your mixing bowl. Mix it all in, so it comes together nicely in a ball of biscuit dough. You might need to go in with your hands at the end to bring it all together fully.
Make the custard cream biscuits
- Roll small pieces of dough (the size of a walnut or teaspoon's worth) into round balls. Place on your prepared baking trays, leaving space between them for spreading. Press the biscuits down a little with your hands or a fork.
- Chill your trays for 10 minutes or so.
Bake the custard cream biscuits
- Bake the biscuits in the oven for around 12 minutes. They're ready when they have started to turn a little golden brown at the edges.Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave them to cool on their baking trays for a few minutes, before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the custard cream centre
- Measure the icing sugar, butter, custard powder and vanilla extract out and add them to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.Using a hand held mixer or the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, mix the icing together. Start very slowly and put a clean tea towel over the top if you can, to stop it getting too messy. Once the icing sugar has mixed in, you can turn the speed up and leave it mixing for a few minutes until it is nice and fluffy.
- Spoon or pipe the custard cream filling onto the base of a biscuit, and spread it to the edges with the back of a spoon or a small palette knife. Top with another biscuit.
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