Basic custard

Scald* the milk over a high heat. Cream the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Whisk a little of the warm milk into the egg mixture (this is to ensure that the temperature is raised gradually so that the eggs don’t scramble). Add the remaining milk to the eggs and whisk.

Transfer to a clean saucepan, return to the heat and cook, stirring continually, until it reaches nappe stage (when the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon).

Add a dash of brandy if you like.

Cook's note: We’re all for making custard from scratch, but sometimes it’s just not going to happen. Woolies has a variety of readymade custards that’ll come to your rescue, including this fresh one, which won first prize at the SA Dairy Championships. We won’t tell...

* To heat a liquid, usually a dairy product, in a saucepan until it almost boils. It used to be an essential step in making bread, as heating would disable or denature some proteins in milk that interfered with yeast fermentation.

Discover our malva pudding recipes here.