HOMEMADE CUSTARD CREAMS
Not only are these packaging free, they are a million times tastier than their shop bought counterparts!
Recently I made teeny tiny versions of these using my smallest cookie cutter, and packaged them up in jam jars for gifts - they went down a storm..!
This recipe is adapted from “Let’s Bake” by Cathryn Dresser
This is what you need:
For the biscuits
- 200g plain flour
- 75g custard powder (I have yet to find a plastic free version of custard powder, but I reckon the payoff of one tub for about a bazillion biscuits, vs a LOT of wrappers works out in my favour?)
- 25g icing sugar
- 175g butter (I always use salted, but all the recipe books specify unsalted. Take your pick..!)
- +/- 1 tbsp milk (you might need this to get it to all come together into a dough)
For the icing
- 50g soft butter
- 150g icing sugar
- 1tbsp custard powder
- 1 tbsp milk
This is what you do:
- Put the flour, custard powder, and icing sugar into a food processor, and blitz to get rid of any lumps
- Add the butter and whiz again until if comes together into a dough. If it’s not looking very dough like, add tsps of milk and keep whizzing until it does
- Tip out the dough, and shape it into a disc. Place the disc of dough in a freezer bag, and then in the fridge for about 20 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan, and line two baking sheets (I use the re-usable silicon liners)
- Take your dough out of the fridge and divide it into two equal-ish pieces (this just makes it easier to roll out)
- Lightly dust your work surface with flour, and then roll out the dough to about the thickness of a pound coin
- Cut out your biscuits-I used a plain circle cutter that was about 6cm diameter, but you can use any shape you like-Nigella does custard cream hearts in one of her books!
- Place them on the baking tray, and then bake for 8-10 minutes (adjust the cooking time depending on the size of your biscuits) until they are a ‘pale golden colour’
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack to cool completely
- To make the icing, combine the icing sugar, butter and custard powder, and mix (I use our kitchen aid). Add the milk, and mix well again until light and fluffy
- When the biscuits are completely cool, sandwich them together with the icing
Plastic free/zero waste tips:
What's your favourite shop bought biscuit?
Have you been able to find a recipe for a homemade version?
Do share in the comments!
