Baby Custard

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Today I'm sharing a quick and easy egg yolk custard recipe. What makes it a baby custard rather than a regular old custard? Well it's the fact that it is a sugar-free!

Ingredients you will need

To make my homemade baby custard you will need

• Milk
• Egg (yolk)
• Cornflour

Ingredient Notes and Substitutes

• The corn flour and the egg are the thickeners for the custard

How to make dairy-free custard?

I've tested this recipe with a few different milk alternatives and it has worked well with soy, rice and almond milk. My suggestion would be adding an extra teaspoon of cornflour to the mix as some of the alternative milks do not thicken quite as easily. So try 2 teaspoon of cornflour instead of 1 tsp.

How to make egg-free custard?

If you are not using egg you will need 3 teaspoons of cornflour. This is known as blancmange.

How to make egg yolk custard?

To make an egg yolk custard without other thickeners you will need to use more egg yolk. If you are not using cornflour you will need 2 egg yolks

Can I use breast milk to make baby custard?

I also get asked how to make custard with baby formula or how to make custard with breastmilk. The answer is easy, stick to this same recipe. You can substitute milk for infant formula or expressed breast milk. As with my suggestion of using a little extra cornflour for alternative milk, I would do the same with formula and breastmilk. Either add some extra cornflour or use a little less volume so that there is less to thicken.

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When can a baby have custard?

The first is at what age can a baby start solids.

• If your baby is less than 17 weeks  (less than 4 months) then the guidance from the professional bodies around the world would be that your baby is too young to start solids.
• If your baby is between 17 and 26 weeks ie between 4-6 months old, and meets the physical requirements to begin solids then the advice may vary depending on your own country's weaning guidelines.
• If your baby is over 6 months then the guidelines would say its ok to start solids
• I have summarised a lot of the guidelines and research from around the world in my article "what is the best age to introduce solids" but it is always best to chat with your healthcare professional about your baby.

The next thing to cover off is when is it safe for babies to have the 2 main ingredients in custard, egg and milk. The advice from professional allergy bodies around the world is that we do not need to delay the introduction of common allergen foods such as milk and egg. So if your baby has started solids then this recipe would be one you can use. You can read about this in my article when to introduce the allergy foods or I have specifially written on the topic of eggs for baby.

It is always best to discuss the introduction of allergy foods to your baby with your healthcare professional so that you can get advice specific to your little one.

Custard is made with egg and milk, it is a combination food, if your baby has not already been exposed to both milk and egg, then it is best to try these foods as individual foods in case there is a reaction.

There may be reasons why you might choose to make this baby pudding without dairy or egg, particularly if your child already has a diagnosed cows milk protein allergy or egg allergy

I also want to clear up a little confusion, many people ask why I include cows milk in recipes for babies under 1 year of age. It is absolutely try that cows milk (or milk alternatives) should not replace breast milk feeds or formula feeds before a child is one year of age. It is, however, ok for babies to start having milk and or milk alternatives in the complementary foods they are offered.

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How to make sugar free custard?

That's easy you just sweeten your custard with something else. For a baby a fruit purée makes sense as a sweetener. I've made banana custard using mashed or puréed banana as the sweetener, peach custard, pear custard and apple custard all have been perfectly sweet for babies.

If you are using a fruit purée to sweeten and egg custard, I find the easiest way is to make a plain custard then stir in the fruit purée at the end once you have taken the custard off the heat.

You can of course sweeten this basic egg custard with other things, honey and maple syrup work well. Please remember though that honey is not recommended for babies under 12 months

You can also of course use regular cane sugar if you choose too. I make homemade custard for my older school-aged kids using a little regular sugar, for a young baby you may not wish to.

Other recipes you may like

If you are looking for other nutritious first foods for babies or custard-style options for your children you may find these recipes useful.

• Homemade baby food recipes
• Baby porridge
• Qunoia baby cereal
• Avocado baby food
• Peanut butter & banana mousse

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