This espresso coffee custard is an Italian-inspired easy recipe that tastes like your favorite Starbucks latte.

It’s creamy, velvety, easy to make, and bursts with real coffee flavor. If you love pastry creams, you will also enjoy our egg-free custard, pistachio cream, and vegan lemon curd.

coffee flavoured custard

Table of Contents

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What is coffee custard?

coffee custard test of creaminess

Coffee custard is a sweet, smooth, creamy, and velvety coffee-flavored custard you can make at home with a few simple ingredients.

The recipe is based on our famous vegan custard, which you guys loved.

Like our pistachio custard, chocolate custard, coffee custard is excellent for filling coffee cakes, croissants, Italian donuts, or delicious vanilla cakes.

It can also be used as a standalone dessert and eaten with a spoon.

Tips for the best coffee custard

  • Learn the basics of vegan custard: Check out our complete guide for more information about making the perfect vegan custard.
  • Add some chocolate at the end: Add a few pieces of dark chocolate for an even more decadent coffee-flavored custard.

    The chocolate will make the custard richer and will enhance the coffee flavor.
  • Cool down bain-marie: If you are making your custard in advance, the best way to cool it down is bain-marie to prevent a thin skin layer from forming on top.
coffee custard

Storage

You can store this coffee custard in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Let it cool down, then cover it with reusable wrap. Make sure the wrap touches the surface of the custard to prevent a thin crust from forming.

You can reheat the custard on low heat by adding a dash of plant milk while stirring.

We do not recommend freezing the custard unless you want to make ice cream out of it.

It is possible that during the cooling process, the custard will dry out on the surface, creating a thin skin that will result in annoying lumps.

If you are annoyed by the lumps, you can always blend the custard with a hand blender. We tried it, and it works beautifully.

Variations

Chocolate custard

chocolate custard

Did you know you can make custard with any flavor you like? A thick and creamy chocolate one is definitely on top of our list!

Here’s our chocolate custard recipe.

More custard recipes

Recipes with custard

coffee custard

Coffee Custard

By: Nico Pallotta
5 from 7 votes
This espresso coffee custard is an Italian-inspired, straightforward recipe that tastes like your favorite Starbucks latte.
It’s creamy, velvety, easy to make, and bursts with real coffee flavor.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Dessert, Dressing & Sauces
Cuisine: Italian
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Equipment

  • Whisk

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups non-dairy milk any, we tried soy, almond, rice, and oat milk
  • 7 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup espresso coffee or 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • To a pot off the heat, add 2 cups non-dairy milk, 7 tablespoons sugar, ½ cup cornstarch, ½ cup espresso coffee, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
    Whisk until all the lumps of the cornstarch are gone.
    making the vegan coffee custard
  • Stir continuously on medium heat until the liquid thickens into a creamy custard.
    It can take between 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the quantities.
    coffee custard_Step-2
  • When you have almost reached the consistency you like, turn the heat off and keep stirring for another minute.
    TIP: The custard will keep thickening as it cools. Keep this in mind and turn off the heat slightly before you reach your desired thickness.
    vegan coffee custard
  • TIP: To check if your custard is cooked, take a wooden or silicone spatula, dip it in the custard, then run a finger through it. If the spatula stays clean, the custard is ready.
    coffee custard_Step-4

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 serving of coffee custard out of 6 servings.
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Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 0.5g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.002g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Potassium: 11mg, Dietary Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin E: 0.002mg, Vitamin K: 0.02µg, Calcium: 101mg, Folate: 0.4µg, Iron: 0.1mg, Manganese: 0.01mg, Magnesium: 1mg, Zinc: 0.01mg
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5 from 7 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this for some eclairs, it came out suuuper nice! I thought I’d messed up at first, because around 7 minutes (I was definitely stirring too much) it was still liquid, but when I checked the recipe and looked away it thickened up lol. It’s really tasty, I can’t wait to share my eclairs with this 🥹 Will definitely use again. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Fantastic, Lusien! The coffee custard sounds delicious in eclairs, wow!

      Thank you for taking the time to come back to leave a comment here ❤️ Kindest,

      Louise

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Finalmente an espresso flavoured pastry cream! Just finished making it, it’s scrumptious…I’m sure it will be even better once cooled. Mille grazie per la ricetta

    Reply