Egg Custard Filling 奶黃
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Egg custard is a popular filing known for its bright yellow color and creamy and smooth texture. It’s used in many Chinese style pastries and dim sum dishes such as baked custard bun and steamed egg custard bao just to name a few.
Like red bean paste filing, egg custard is a fundamental and versatile ingredient that can be used in all things sweet and creamy so I always keep some extra in my freezer. Unlike red bean paste, I have arealy seen it being sold in Asian grocery stores so I get to practice my custard making skills once in a while.
There are quite a few methods of making egg custard ranging from egg only to egg-less and each method yields a different taste and texture. The recipe I am sharing today gives a middle of the road egg taste and a smooth and moist texture. You can also adjust the texture by increasing and decreasing the cook time as I note in the recipe.
If you have extra custard, just simply store in a Ziploc or well sealed container and leave it in freezer for up to 30 days.
Egg Custard Filing 奶黃
Yield: 520g - 560g
Prep Time: 7 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 17 mins
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 180ml milk
- 60g butter
- 50g sugar
- 40g custard powder
- 30g wheat starch (can be substituted with corn starch)
- 10g milk powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, sift together custard powder, wheat starch, milk powder. 
Add all the eggs and vanilla extract (optional) to the dry mixture.
Wish until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
Cut the butter into smaller chucks and add to the milk mixture.
Heat the milk mixture over low heat until the butter starts to melt.
Slowly add the egg mixture to the milk mixture. Stir with a spatula while pouring.
Be patient and keep on stirring while the mixture heats up. Depending on your stove, this might take 5 - 8 minutes. As the mixture solidifies, it will get a sticker and eventually the mixture will become smooth and less sticky. *Remove the heat from the stove and let it cool down to room temperature.
Once the custard is cool enough to handle, transfer to a container or ziploc or plastic wrap if you plan to shape the custard into balls later. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up for easy handling later. Alternatively, wrap really well and store in a freezer for up to 30 days.
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Hi! Thanks for the recipe! Wondering can I add condensed milk and how much do you think? Thanks!
Hi. Wondering if you try to hack for the custard powder using tapioca starch, vanilla extract and yellow food coloring yet. If so, what is the exact ratio that you used?
hi, thanks for checking out the recipe. I did try making custard using corn starch, vanilla extract, and food coloring and it turned out pretty good. I think tapioca starch works the same way. Please let me know if you get to test out with tapioca starch. Thanks.
After my filling cooled it was too solid. Like it cracked when I tried to wrap it up. I cooked too long then?
Hi Tiffany, sorry for the late reply. Yeah it sounds like the custard was over cooked a bit but it should still taste wonderful though.
Just tried cooking this custard. It thickened nicely and kind of smoothed out, but it has a powdery, slight uncooked taste to it. Not sure if I did anything wrong. I used Bird custard powder.
Hi Susanna, thank you for checking out this recipe. One thing I can think of is, that after mixing the sifted custard powder with eggs, please make sure the mixture is lump free. Small lumps of custard powder will not get cooked through, causing that raw taste. Also, are you planning on using the custard as filling for something else? Normally, the custard is used in another recipe which also requires cooking so after cooking the custard twice, that raw taste generally goes away. I hope this helps.
Not sure if I’ve ever had anything with an egg custard filling. I love a great custard like this so I would suspect that anything filled with it would be awesome. Very interesting!
Is this custard smooth, like a custard? Looks chunky, like a curd.
it’s quite smooth. The picture makes it look a little lumpy.
Really interesting recipe! Love egg custard and this looks a bit different. Fun dish — thanks.
Thanks John.
This is great, I have a real soft spot for Chinese custard breads.
Is the custard powder like the English Bird’s brand powder? Or are you using some kind of Chinese custard powder?
I’m in a rural area so getting either will be difficult. Can you help me reverse engineer a custard powder?
Thank you!
Hi Mack, thanks for checking out this recipe. The only custard powder I have used is the Lion brand. It’s available in almost all Chinese/Asian grocery stores. I haven’t made the powder from scratch yet but I am interested in finding out how.
Hi Mack, after consulting with a good friend of mine, here is what you can do to hack the custard powder. I have not made it myself yet so you might have to play around with the ratio. The basic ingredients you need are corn starch or tapioca starch, vanilla extra, and some yellow food coloring. The basic ratio I come up with in weight is 98% : 1% : 1%. Please let me know how it came out if you get to try it. Thanks
Why do you need custard powder in the recipe? I thought custard powder was a substitute for real custard, not an ingredient.
Hi Miriam, that’s a really good question. You are totally right that one can make a type of custard that consists eggs only and you’ll probably get pretty good texture but from my experience that type of custard tastes a tad too eggy for my taste bud. On the other hand, I’ve also seen recipes calling for zero egg but entirely custard powder which yields a custard that tastes artificial and lacks flavor. I find that a combination of both produces a balance in terms of texture and taste, especially for some Asian pastries. Just my two cents 🙂