Types of Custard – A Comprehensive Guide

This baking basics article is all about the types of custard in the culinary world! Learn the basics of custards and all the variations you can make with this versatile sauce.

This is a comprehensive guide to all the types of custard and the differences between them.

Custard is a thickened base made with dairy, sugar, and eggs, with the addition of cornstarch in some instances. But they all contain dairy, sugar, and eggs. 

Custards can take the form of cooked custards or baked custards. They can also be classified as thin custards or thick custards. This post is about all these different types of custard in the culinary world, and the different types of dessert you can make with them.

Types of custard

• Pouring custard or creme anglaise
  • Bavarois
  • Cremeux
• Pastry cream or creme patissiere
  • Creme diplomat (diplomat cream)
  • Mousseline cream or Creme mousseline
  • Creme chiboust
• Chantilly cream (technically not a custard, but used the same way as pastry cream)
• Baked custards
  • Creme brulee
  • Baked custard pie filling
  • Flan or classic crème caramel
• Set creams
  • Panna cotta
• Fruit curds (milk is replaced with fruit juice or pulp)

Let’s start with the most basic types of custard

Creme anglaise

Creme anglaise or pouring custard is a thin custard, with a rich and silky feel. It’s thick but very pourable. It cannot be used as a filling because it will simply run out. 

The ingredients for creme anglaise are typically, 

• Dairy (milk and/or heavy cream, or half and half)
• Sugar
• Egg yolks
• Flavoring (vanilla, salt etc.)

The higher the fat content of the dairy, the more luscious the mouthfeel is of the resulting custard. Traditionally, it doesn’t contain cornstarch, but you can add a little to make the recipe more foolproof. I don’t like to add too much cornstarch because you don’t want the pouring custard to have a starchy mouthfeel.

Creme anglaise is the base for other types of custard such as bavarois and cremeux. Creme anglaise is also the base for ice creams! You make a thin custard and then chill it before it’s churned into ice cream. Get my recipe for creme anglaise here.

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Creme patissiere

Pastry cream or creme patissiere is a thicker custard that is used as a filling for different desserts. These desserts include choux pastry, profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, tarts (like this strawberry tart), cakes, and other types of dessert. My pastry cream recipe is one of the most popular recipes on the blog because it always results in perfect, silky results!

Similar to other custards, pastry cream is made with, 

• Milk 
• Sugar
• Eggs (or just egg yolks) 
• Flavoring (vanilla, salt etc.)
• But it also includes cornstarch or flour for a thickened consistency.

This type of custard is cooled down in the fridge and then whisked again to obtain a creamy consistency. 

Just like with pouring custard, using dairy with high fat content will make for a richer pastry cream. You can add more egg yolks to make the custard even richer as well. To make the custard thicker, you can add more cornstarch and/or flour. 

I prefer to add cornstarch unless I want to freeze the custard. If you’re looking to freeze pastry cream, then flour is the better option as a thickener. You can also add other flavors to make flavored pastry cream, such as my chocolate pastry cream recipe.

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Creme chantilly

This is not technically a “custard”, but creme chantilly is used along with custards, and is an addition for many custard-based desserts. 

This is simply sweetened whipped cream, which usually can have gelatin as a stabilizer.

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Types of custard variations

Bavarois

Bavarois (bavarian cream) is a custard-based dessert that is set in molds. The base of this dessert is creme anglaise with gelatin. Then whipped cream is folded in to lighten and thicken the case. This custard is then set in molds in the fridge, and then unmolded before serving. 

It is very similar to panna cotta, but with custard and whipped cream.

Traditionally, a fluted mold is used to set this type of custard. 

Base : creme anglaise

Additions : gelatin and whipped cream to thicken and to set

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Cremeux

Cremeux is used as a filling or garnish for desserts. It is absolutely delicious, super creamy, and rich in flavor. The base for this is creme anglaise as well. To thicken and to get the right consistency, it’s mixed with chocolate. Dark chocolate is more classic, but you can also use white chocolate.

Chocolate cremeux is a modified ganache as well. The warm cream is replaced with warm custard, resulting in a richer product.

This will harden in the fridge, but will have the best texture at room temperature.

Base : creme anglaise

Additions : chocolate to thicken, and gelatin can also be added for thickening

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Creme diplomat (diplomat cream)

Diplomat cream is used as a custard-based filling for many desserts. It’s pastry cream that has been mixed with cream chantilly or unsweetened whipped cream. It’s an AMAZING filling for pastries such as choux pastry or eclairs, and are fantastic in tarts and doughnuts as well. Usually pastry cream and whipped cream are mixed at a 1:1 ratio, but that ratio doesn’t need to be precise.

This is by far one of my favorite custard fillings. Personally, creme diplomat tastes like a more light and airy ice cream filling, and it’s absolutely divine! Due to the use of whipped cream, it isn’t as stable (as opposed to using butter for instance).

Gelatin (or another stabilizer) can be used to make the creme diplomat more stable, depending on the use (for example, as filling in a cake). I like to use gelatin in my diplomat cream recipe to make it more stable. You can also infuse the base with different flavors to make flavored diplomat cream recipes such as my banana diplomat cream recipe for homemade banana pudding.

Base : creme patissiere

Additions : creme chantilly or unsweetened whipped cream, and gelatin for additional stability

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Creme mousseline

Crème mousseline is a richer, more stable version of diplomat cream. Instead of whipped cream, pastry cream is whipped with butter to make it “lighter”. But due to the butter, it is in fact more rich and buttery in taste (obviously) as well.

The resulting cream mousseline is velvety, thick, spreadable, and pipeable. As it is comparable to a buttercream that isn’t as sweet, this can be used as a filling for many types of cake (layer cakes, swiss cakes, cupcakes etc.). It also makes a fantastic filling for the best Paris-Brest!

Due to the butter content, this will harden in the fridge, and will have optimal texture at room temperature.

Base : creme patissiere

Additions : room temperature butter to thicken and stabilize, and praline as an addition for flavor

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Creme chiboust

This is different from the other types of custard because creme chiboust is lightened with meringue (beaten egg whites). It’s famously used in the dessert St. Honoré. Italian meringue (egg whites whipped with hot sugar syrup) is mixed with cooked and cooled pastry cream to make this delicious custard.

While Italian meringue is the most stable of all meringues, you may need to add some gelatin to make creme chilboust more stable.

Base : creme pattisiere

Additions : Italian meringue to thicken, and gelatin for stability (optional)

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Baked custards

Baked custards are essentially “thinner uncooked custards”, that are baked until set. Usually pastry cream and pouring custard are cooked over the stove. But baked custards are cooked (or finished cooking) in the oven.

The milk is heated and then usually tempered with eggs (or egg yolks) to make the runny custard. Then this is baked in the oven. It’s very important to control the heat of the oven (lower heat) and the baking time to ensure that the custard bakes into a perfectly silky, smooth dessert and that it does NOT curdle!

Creme brulee

Creme brulee is one of the more famous baked custards. It’s simple and delicious. The key to a good creme brulee is to bake it in a shallow dish so that you get a mouthful of caramelized sugar with every spoonful of custard. But I do like to make creme brulee in a sous vide as well, where the custard is “cooked” in a deeper dish that can be submerged in water.

The key to making perfect creme brulee is to bake the custard in a water bath. This will temper the heat in the oven and ensure that the custard bakes evenly at a lower heat, resulting in a silky, rich custard that is absolutely delicious. The caramelized sugar on top (after the custard is chilled), adds a delightful crunchy flavor contrast AND a slightly bitter sweetness to the dessert.

Baked custard pie fillings

Everyone loves a good custard pie! And all those custard pie fillings are of course baked custards – from classic custard pies to pumpkin or sweet potato pies and etc.

A filling is made by mixing liquids (usually milk or cream, along with other ingredients), sugar, and eggs. This is poured into a unbaked or par-baked pie shell, and then baked until the custard is set.

Baked puddings, flan or creme caramel

This type of baked custard is a thin custard that is baked in a dish. You can also serve it unmolded, straight from the baking dish.

With flan or creme caramel, a layer of caramelized sugar is added to the bottom of the dish, so that the final dessert has a delicious caramelized surface on top when served.

Bread pudding also utilizes a runny custard base that is soaked into the bread and baked until set. A type of baked custard pudding with additions to enhance the texture and flavor of the dessert.

Another type of baked custard that I love to eat is Watalappan. This is a classic Sri Lankan custard dessert made with coconut milk instead of regular milk, and is mixed with eggs, jaggery, and spices. This thin custard is then baked OR steamed until the pudding is cooked through.

Contrary to other baked custards, watalappan is usually overbaked a little to create the holes in the custard that holds sugar syrup. But you can serve it like a classic baked custard with a silky smooth texture as well.

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Set creams

Panna cotta

Set creams such as panna cotta do not use eggs in the recipe. So it isn’t really a custard. But panna cotta is so delicately set, it has the texture of baked custards, IF it’s made correctly! That is why I’ve included it in this list.

Only just enough gelatin is added to set the cream, giving it a wobbly texture. This is one of my favorite desserts to make, because it’s super simple to make. Plus you can create so many flavors variations! You can find several different flavors of panna cotta recipes on The Flavor Bender too.

• Classic panna cotta
• Coconut panna cotta
• Matcha panna cotta
• Bubble tea panna cotta

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Fruit curds

Fruit curds are also not custards, but they are made the same way as custard. Instead of milk, fruit juice (usually a citrus juice) is cooked with sugar and eggs. The result is a tangy, sweet fruit curd that is creamy, thick, rich, and delicious.

Lemon curd is definitely one of the most popular fruit curds. But you can also make,

• Lime curd
• Passion fruit curd
• Pineapple curd
• Raspberry lemon curd
• Orange curd
• Strawberry lemon curd

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Types of dessert that you can make with custard

Creme anglaise

• Ice cream recipes (the ice cream base is a pouring custard)
• Floating island
• Can be poured over various desserts such as puddings, cakes, jello

Bavarois

A dessert on its own!

Cremeux

• As a filling for tarts or cakes.
• Can pipe it on top of various desserts.
• Can add it as a garnish for many desserts.

Pastry cream (creme patissiere)

• Filling for profiteroles or eclairs.
• Filling for cakes such as Boston cream pie.
• Piped into doughnuts, like these classic glazed doughnuts or coffee doughnuts.
• A slightly less thick version can also be eaten like pudding!
• Trifles like this chocolate brownie trifle.
• Pie or tart filling.

Diplomat cream (creme diplomat)

• Filling for profiteroles or eclairs.
• Filling for cakes, BUT with a buttercream dam since this will be too soft as a filling on its own.
• Piped into donuts.
• Flavored mousse recipes like this butterscotch mousse.
• Trifles, like this homemade banana pudding trifle.
• Filling for desserts like crepe cakes.
• Pie or tart filling.

Mousseline cream or Creme mousseline

• Can be used as a filling for many pastries.
• Also can be used in place of buttercream for desserts such as,
  • Cakes
  • Meringue cakes
  • Cupcakes

Creme chiboust

• St. Honore Gateau

Well, there you have it! All the types of custard, and the myriad of desserts you can make with ’em. If you ever need to know the difference between the many types of custard-based dessert, or how to make them, this is the only guide you’ll ever need.