Whip up this delicious, creamy Indian fruit custard for any celebration. Made with custard powder, milk, and a variety of fresh fruits, it is a delightful, vibrant dessert. This eggless custard dessert is easy to make in less than 30 minutes.
A couple of my favorite desserts growing up were gulab jamun and custard. My mom used to make them frequently. And I am happy that my kids love these desserts too.
Fruit custard is easy to make, and does not require many ingredients. The only special ingredient is custard powder, which is easy to always keep in the pantry. I add whatever fruits we have on hand to the custard.
Easy to put together when you have any guests or a party. And everyone loves it. So give this easy recipe a try for this holiday season.
Table of Contents
- Watch How to Make Fruit Custard
- What is Fruit Custard?
- What Fruits To Add to Fruit Custard?
- Why You’ll Love This Indian Fruit Custard?
- Ingredients
- How to make Fruit Custard?
- Tips & Tricks for Fruit Custard
- Fruit Custard Variations
- Common Questions
- More Desserts You’ll Love
- Fruit Custard (Easy Indian Dessert) Recipe
Watch How to Make Fruit Custard
What is Fruit Custard?
It is a flavored custard that is made with milk, sugar, and custard powder. It is a light, smooth, and creamy custard that you can enjoy as is, but it is even better with the addition of fresh fruits and nuts.
Some people call this fruit salad with custard. You can add any seasonal fruits of your choice, or you have on hand.
I highly recommend using good-quality custard powder. My favorite is vanilla custard, which is also the most popular. You can also find other flavors of custard powder – banana, pistachio, strawberry, mango, etc.
Looking for more dessert recipes? I have got you covered. Check out these 35+ Easy Indian Dessert Recipes.
What Fruits To Add to Fruit Custard?
Any seasonal fruits go well in this dessert, but I like the variety of fruits, such as mango, apples, red grapes, green grapes, and pomegranates. You can add anything you want, though.
Just stay away from citrus foods like oranges, grapefruit, and kiwi. Even foods like watermelon that have much water won’t work here.
Why You’ll Love This Indian Fruit Custard?
- An easy, quick dessert that can be made in less than 30 minutes.
- It’s easy to double or triple the recipe.
- Easy to customize with whatever fruits and nuts you have on hand.
- It is egg-free and can be made vegan easily by swapping milk with non-dairy milk such as almond milk or oat milk.
Ingredients
- Custard Powder: I use Brown Polson Vanilla Custard Powder and would highly recommend it.
- Milk: I used whole milk when making custard. You could also use evaporated, half-and-half creamer or 2% milk. For vegan options, you can use non-dairy options such as almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk.
- Fruits: You can make this fruit custard with various fruits, like mango, apples, red grapes, green grapes, and pomegranate.
- Sweetener: I have used white sugar. You can also use brown sugar, stevia, jaggery powder, or other sweeteners. This will change the color and taste a little bit.
- Cardamom powder: This is completely optional, but we love the flavor.
How to make Fruit Custard?
- We will start with heating the milk on medium-high heat. I suggest using a large, heavy bottom pan.
- After the milk is warmed, take three tablespoons of milk out of the pan and put in a small bowl. To this, add three tablespoons of custard powder and mix well. No lumps should be there. You can use a small whisk if needed. Set it aside.
- Stir the milk in the pan at regular intervals until it starts to boil gently. Then turn down the heat, add the sugar and, if using, the cardamom powder, and stir until everything is mixed.
- Stir the custard mixture in the bowl and slowly pour it into the milk. Add small amounts while constantly stirring the milk in the pan.
- Cook and stir the custard for 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Cover the custard and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
- When the custard is almost cooled, chop the fruits you will use. Make sure to use fruits of different colors so that the finished dessert looks bright.
- Once the custard has cooled, put it in a bowl to serve and mix in the chopped fruits.
- Mix the fruits gently with a ladle.
- You can also save some fruit, like pomegranate seeds, to put on top of the bowls when you serve.
- Serve the fruit custard right away, or cover it and put it in the fridge for 1–2 hours. Then, put in small bowls and top with the fruits you saved. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks for Fruit Custard
- Make sure to chill the custard before adding fruits, and then again after adding fruits and before serving.
- Once you add the custard mixture, keep stirring continuously until it starts to thicken. Then, as soon as it thickens, take off the heat.
- Do not overcook. Remember that custard does thicken as it cools down.
- Remember that once you add fruits, the custard will thin a little as the fruits release moisture.
- Once the custard is ready and before refrigerating, stir the custard so it cools down a little. This will help to prevent from forming a thick layer on top.
Fruit Custard Variations
Fruits are all you need to make a simple custard. But to make it different
Add nuts: You can add nuts such as almonds, cashews, or pecans to make it more filling and tasty.
Kids will love these additions: You can also add chocolate chips, coconut bits, or tutti frutti.
Chocolate custard: You can also make chocolate custard by adding cocoa powder to the same recipe. Along with this, you can also use brown sugar to make this.
Make it vegan: You can make this custard vegan by replacing milk with non-dairy milk such as almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, etc.
Make fusion dessert cups: I love gulab jamuns and custard, so I created a fusion dessert that combines them – Gulab jamun Custard Jars.
Common Questions
It is possible that the custard did not cook enough to thicken, or less custard powder was added. If the custard is too thin after being refrigerated, heat it again and let it boil a little. Add some custard powder mixed with hot milk to the pan. Boil it just until it starts to get thick. Then, take off the heat.
If the custard gets too thick after it is cooled, put it in a stand mixer. Add some milk and mix with a whisk. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also use a blender and pulse it until you get the right texture.
If the custard has lumps after it is cooled, put it in a stand mixer and mix with a whisk. If needed, you can add a little cold milk. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also use a blender and pulse it until you get the right texture.
If you don’t have custard powder, add a pinch of yellow food coloring and a drop of vanilla flavor to corn flour, mix with warm milk, and then use the mixture to make custard.
Fruit Custard (Easy Indian Dessert)
Ingredients
- 3 cups Whole Milk, 24 oz
- 5 tablespoon Sugar, add more to taste
- 3 tablespoon Custard powder, I use and recommend Brown Polson Vanilla Custard Powder
- pinch Cardamom powder (Elaichi), optional
- 2 cups Assorted Fruits, apple, mango, red grapes, green grapes, pomegranate,
Instructions
- To a heavy bottom pan, add milk on medium-high heat.
- Once it has heated up a little, take out 3 tablespoons milk from the pan into a small bowl. Add in 3 tablespoons custard powder to that milk and mix well. There should be no lumps. Set it aside.
- Stir the milk in the pan at regular intervals until it comes to a gentle boil. Then lower the heat, add sugar, cardamom powder if using, and mix until combined.
- Stir the custard mix and add it to the milk slowly. Add a little at a time while stirring the milk in the pan continuously.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the custard just starts to thicken while stirring continuously. Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
- Cover the custard and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
- When the custard is almost ready to be served, chop the fruits that you are using. Ensure to include various color fruits to make the final dessert look vibrant.
- Once chilled, transfer the custard to a serving bowl and mix in the chopped fruits. You can also save some fruits, such as pomegranate seeds, to top the serving bowls.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate the fruit custard for 1-2 hours. Then serve in small bowls and garnish on top with saved fruits. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make sure to chill the custard before adding fruits, and then again after adding fruits and before serving.
- Once you add the custard mixture, keep stirring continuously until it starts to thicken. Then, as soon as it thickens, take off the heat.
- Do not overcook. Remember that custard does thicken as it cools down.
- Remember that once you add fruits, the custard will thin a little as the fruits release moisture.
- Once the custard is ready and before refrigerating, stir the custard so it cools down a little. This will help to prevent from forming a thick layer on top.
