We’re just back from a really enjoyable week in sunny Madeira. We dined in lovely restaurants, enjoyed great food and of course had some Madeira wine! In ways, it was nice to be back though. Back to normal food and cooking in the kitchen. When I go away, I always come back craving something simple. This week I was craving tea and a custard cream. Custard creams are the kind of biscuits that are so common place in Ireland that they are often overlooked. They are the type of biscuits that are found on plates in Church halls, school meetings, hospitals and canteens all over the country. They’re not posh or fancy, they’re even a little outdated and unfashionable. They are simple, they’re plain but, there is something remarkably comforting about a custard cream. They are not too sweet, not too chewy and light enough to have a second one. They are yummy with a flask of tea, when you’re on the side of the cold mountain, which is where I usually seem to eat them. So I decided to try and recreate my own custard cream, and somehow, they tasted better than any custard cream I’ve ever eaten. Sweet, slightly salty, crunchy and creamy at the same time, these are custard creams to die for. I adapted this recipe from a BBC Good Food recipe.
Here’s how:
Biscuits
– 175g softened butter
– 50g caster sugar
– 50g icing sugar
– 2 egg yolks
– 2 tsp custard powder
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 300g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
Custard Filling
– 100g softened butter
– 140g icing sugar , sifted, plus a little extra
– 2 tbsp custard powder
– few drops yellow food colouring
Begin by preheating the oven to 180C . Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butter, sugars, egg yolks, custard powder and vanilla in a food processor and blend until creamy. Next pour in the flour and bend until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and leave to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Once rested, take the dough from the fridge and roll out thinly on a floured surface. Cut the bisuits out using a small rectangular biscuit cutter.
Transfer the biscuits onto the baking sheets and bake for 8-10 mins until golden. Keep a close eye on them, as mine cooked in a mere 8 minutes. Place the cooked biscuits on a wire rack to cool.
While the biscuits are cooling, you can prepare the filling. Mix the soft butter, icing sugar, custard powder and food colouring with a wooden spoon. When the biscuits are cold, pipe the filling on the bisuit and place another biscuit on top to create the custard cream sandwich.
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