1,562 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

Lemon Confectioner's Custard

Name: Lemon Confectioner's Custard
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 23 min
Yield: 350 g
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 250 ml milk; 1 lemon; ½ vanilla pod; 3 egg yolks; 30 g caster sugar; 20 g cornflour

This recipe is for a confectioner's custard with a difference: it's a little less sweet than the classic confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream) and has double lemon flavour, using both zest and juice, for plenty of tangy lemon taste.

It's the perfect filling for lemon tarts, of course, but also verrines, profiteroles, eclairs, etc.

225 K 3.9/5 (52 reviews)

25 min.

Easy

2.15 €

350 g

6 Ingredients

Last modified on: May 9^th 2018

For 350 g, you will need:

1 250 ml milk
2 1 lemon
3 ½ vanilla pod
4 3 egg yolks
5 30 g caster sugar
6 20 g cornflour
Total weight: 495 grams

Times for this recipe

Preparation: 9 min.

Cooking: 15 min.

All in all: 25 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time

To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - ⌛ 2 min.

Pour 250 ml milk into a saucepan.

Grate the lemon zest into the milk...

Stage 2 - ⌛ 1 min.

...and add ½ vanilla pod. Mix well.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 7 min.

Bring to the boil on medium heat.

As soon as the milk comes to the boil, take off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.

Stage 4 - ⌛ 3 min.

Mix 3 egg yolks and 30 g caster sugar with a soft spatula. Add 20 g cornflour and mix again.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 1 min.

Pour the milk, while it is still hot, onto the egg yolks through a sieve to remove the lemon zest (which has a rather unpleasant texture in the mouth). Stir to mix thoroughly.

Stage 6 - ⌛ 7 min.

Pour the mixture back into the pan, put on low heat and leave to thicken while beating continuously.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 2 min.

Once the custard has thickened, leave to cook for 10 minutes uncovered, then add the lemon juice and beat in rapidly with the whisk.

Your lemon confectioner's custard is ready.

Stage 8

If you want to cool the custard quickly, even very quickly, do it like the professionals. See how in this video.

Remarks

To make a lime version of this custard, simply use a lime instead of the lemon.

Keeping: 1 or 2 days in the fridge, covered with plastic film.

Source: Based on recipe by Gaston Lenôtre.

Nutritional information

	Proteins (gr)	Carbohydrates (gr)	Fats (gr)	Energy value (in k-calories)	Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe	30 RDI=10 %	60 RDI=6 %	30 RDI=5 %	650 RDI=30 %	2,720 RDI: 30 %
Per 100 g	5 RDI=2 %	10 RDI=1 %	6 RDI=1 %	130 RDI=7 %	550 RDI: 7 %

Possible allergens in this recipe: milk, egg

How much will it cost?

For 350 g : 2.20 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 6

Mini lemon millefeuilles

These dainty and delicious mini millefeuilles have layers of puff pastry filled with lemon confectioner's custard (pastry cream). They are a bit tricky because they are quite fragile and do not keep well once assembled. But freshly made, they are a true delight.
57 K 2 hours 25 min.

Lemon and lime custard tart

This is a delicious version of the classic French baker's "flan", with the twin flavours of lemon and lime. It involves two different confectioner's custards poured one on top of the other. This gives an attractive layered effect when the tart is cut. Not just pretty, it is delicious.
82 K 3 hours 15 min.

Clafoutis "Marie-Antoinette"

This "Marie-Antoinette" clafoutis is a lighter version of the traditional fruit-in-batter baked dessert, almost a soufflé, with apples and lemon. The apples are sautéed in butter and Calvados, then combined with a lemon-flavoured confectioner's custard, lightened with raw meringue. This mixture is...
64 K4.9 1 hour 20 min.

Strawberry feuilleté

This elegant French dessert is not quite a tart. The base is a circle of puff pastry baked and caramelized, then topped when cold with a thin layer of lime-flavoured confectioner's custard and beautiful fresh strawberries.
64 K3.8 45 min.