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.
We use simple ingredients; you can use authentic espresso or instant coffee powder. It’s also vegan-friendly.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet.
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What is coffee custard?
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, and lemon curd, 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.
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
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 vegan chocolate custard recipe.
We recommend reading our ultimate guide on making vegan custard to learn the basics and the variations.
More custard recipes
Desserts
Vegan custard (pastry cream)
Desserts
Pistachio Custard
Desserts
Vegan Lemon Curd
Desserts
Orange Cake
Recipes with custard
- Vegan brioche rolls with custard
- Torta della nonna
- Vegan lemon bars
- Vegan coffee cake
- Vegan apple cake
- Strawberry tart
- Vegan lemon tart
- Kiwi tart
- Fruit tart
- Vegan croissants
Coffee Custard
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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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
Thanks Vanessa, glad you liked the coffee cream 🙂