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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.

236 K 3.9/5 (53 reviews)679632

Duration

24 min.

Difficulty

Easy

Last modified on: October 24^th 2026

Step-by-step recipe Ingredients Duration Nutrition facts Cost Comments Support the site ❤️

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

24 min.

Preparation 9 min.

Cooking 15 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

Step 1 - ⌛ 2 min.

Pour 250 ml milk into a saucepan.

Grate the lemon zest into the milk...

Step 2 - ⌛ 1 min.

...and add ½ vanilla pod. Mix well.

Step 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.

Step 4 - ⌛ 3 min.

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

Step 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.

Step 6 - ⌛ 7 min.

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

Step 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.

Step 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.

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Nutritional information

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	5 g RDI=8 %	13 g RDI=5 %	7 g RDI=9 %	132 kcal RDI=7 %	554 kJ RDI=7 %
Whole recipe	26 g RDI=39 %	65 g RDI=24 %	32 g RDI=44 %	650 kcal RDI=32 %	2,721 kJ RDI=32 %

Whole recipe

Possible allergens in this recipe: milk, egg

How much will it cost?

For 350 g

2.20 €

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

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