The authentic custard: proper recipe and origins

Here is the Queen among all the creams, sweet-tasting and also highly enjoyable alone with a spoon or as a filling of cakes and pies: obviously we are talking about the custard, which has actually become a stronghold of the pastry, all over the world. Its preparation is not difficult: let’s discover together the origins and the proper authentic custard recipe, so we can prepare and taste it, at any time.

The origin of the custard preparation

The custard preparation finds its roots in France, where is also known as the crème pâtissièr.

The story wants François Massialot to be the inventor of this confectionery preparation: he was an important cook born in 1660, in Limoges, who served the main illustrious personalities of his time, such as cardinals, marquises and dukes, including the Duke of Orleans, brother of the Sun King Louis XIV.

François Massialot is remembered today primarily as the author of the book “Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois”, among the first Culinary dictionaries in the world: the custard recipe is first mentioned in this volume, published in 1705.

The original custard recipe

Over many years, the custard recipe has been made in different ways, more or less faithful to the original one: sometimes different flavours are added, such as lemon, chocolate, coffee and hazelnut.

The original custard recipe has few ingredients: egg yolks, flour, sugar and milk, with the addition of a Bourbon vanilla berry. The process is not difficult: beat the egg yolks with the sugar to obtain a white, fluffy and smooth mixture, to which you will add sifted flour and milk, which has previously been brought to a boil with the vanilla berry.

Now the mixture must be brought to the boil again; cook gently over a low heat and stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, until the custard thickens and you reach the right consistency.

The custard is now ready to be enjoyed with a spoon or can be used instead for filling a sponge cake, or eclairs, tarts and many other cakes.

RivaReno vanilla gelato

The custard is a delicious spoon dessert , so loved by young and old ones. How can you make it even more tasty and delicious? Turn it into gelato!

RivaReno Italian gelato laboratory offers every day the classic and traditional taste of the authentic custard in its vanilla gelato, a daily fresh product made by the master makers with top quality ingredients only: a light touch of Bourbon vanilla for a creamy and smooth variant of the Queen of the creams, an unmistakable flavour of the traditional pastry!