Custard Cake

This Custard Cake consists of ridiculously fluffy vanilla sponge cake layered with custard buttercream and a homemade custard filling.

This is a magical 'proposal-inducing' custard cake it seems. I brought Chris a slice of it to try last week and the next morning - boom! An engagement ring.
Clearly, it was the cake.

I went through a few iterations of this vanilla custard cake and wasn't happy with it - so I broke it down and analyzed every step of the recipe until it was PERFECT. I switched to a reverse creaming method to make the sponge extra light and fluffy, and I changed the frosting recipe to make it even more custardy.

The cake uses custard (vanilla pastry cream, or crème patissière) in two ways, in the frosting to make a custard buttercream, and as a filling inside and on top of the cake. This is the same custard filling recipe I use in my Custard Donuts and it's always a winner!

Jump to:

• Custard Cake Ingredients
• How To Make Custard Cake
• Make the Custard Filling
• Make the Vanilla Sponge Cake
• Make the Custard Buttercream
• Assemble the Custard Cake
• Video - Custard Cake Tutorial
• What is the Reverse Creaming Method?
• What makes this Custard Cake Custardy?
• How To Store Custard Cake
• More Custard Dessert Recipes
• Recipe

Recommended Equipment

• Saucepan
• Whisk
• Stand Mixer
• Sieve
• 8-inch Cake Pans
• Cake Leveler

How To Make Custard Cake

There are three elements to this vanilla custard cake - the French Vanilla Cake, the Custard Filling, and the Custard Buttercream. We'll use the custard filling (pastry cream) as a straight filling, and also to make the custard buttercream.

Make the Custard Filling

The first step for making this cake is to make the pastry cream - also known as crème pâtissière or custard. You can make the custard a day or two in advance if you want to break the recipe into easier steps. This is the same filling used inside Boston Cream Pie, so you know it's good!

1. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together in a large bowl until pale and thick.
2. Heat the milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and slowly warm over medium heat until scalding. This means that steam is rising from the milk, and tiny bubbles will start to appear on the surface. Don't let it boil.

3. Once the milk is scalding, drizzle a small amount of warm milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk, then add a little more, repeat until everything is together in the bowl, then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.
   
   It's important to add the milk to the eggs slowly to temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling.

4. Keep heating the custard on medium heat, whisking constantly until it begins to boil with thick bubbles bursting on the surface. Boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat. It should be thick enough that you can draw a line in it on the back of a spoon.

5. If the custard has been cooked gradually, there shouldn't be any lumps in the custard, but if there are, you can pass the pastry cream through a sieve into a bowl to remove them.
6. To enrich the pastry cream, whisk in the butter one small piece at a time, making sure it melts into the mixture completely before adding the next piece.

7. Cover with plastic wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin from forming). Let it cool down a little and then refrigerate for at least two hours. I like to make this the day before and let it sit overnight, but it can be used after 2 hours.

Make the Vanilla Sponge Cake

This is my go-to Vanilla Cake recipe - I use it as a base for lots of other cakes and cupcakes. If you want to make an even lighter version, try my Genoise Sponge.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C (or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven) and grease two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Split the milk into two containers, one with ½ cup of milk (120ml) and one with ¾ cup of milk (180ml).
3. Mix the ½ cup of milk with the vegetable oil and set aside. Mix the ¾ cup of milk with the eggs and vanilla. Whisk together lightly and set aside.

4. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your mixer and turn on low with your paddle attachment.
5. Slowly add the butter, one small chunk at a time, letting it mix for a few seconds in between additions. Once it's all in it should look kind of like chunky breadcrumbs.

6. Add the milk/oil mixture and slowly turn your mixer up to a medium speed, just so it doesn't splash. Beat for exactly two minutes.

7. Scrape the sides of your bowl to make sure there are no lumps, then turn the mixer back on low.
8. Add the milk/egg mixture slowly and mix on low until just combined.

8. Divide the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
9. Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing and putting on a wire rack to cool.

Make the Custard Buttercream

This Custard buttercream, or 'German Buttercream' is silky smooth and full of rich, creamy vanilla flavor.

1. Before you start, move roughly ⅓ of the pastry cream into a separate bowl and place it back in the fridge. Put the remaining ⅔ of the pastry cream in a covered bowl on the counter to come to room temperature. At the same time, remove your butter from the fridge so it can also come to room temperature.
2. Once it's at room temperature, you can start making the frosting. Place all the butter in your stand mixer and beat with a whisk attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes)
3. Add the pastry cream one tablespoon at a time until it is all added, whipping in between additions.
4. Add the vanilla and salt and mix in.
5. At this stage, taste-test the buttercream to see how much sweetness you would like to add. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, whipping after every addition, until the desired sweetness is reached.
6. The custard buttercream should be lovely and silky smooth - if it curdles it's usually just a sign that the ingredients were not the same temperature - to fix it just take the bowl and very gently heat the bottom of it over a bain marie and whisk until it comes together again (it shouldn't take long), then return to the stand mixer and it should be beautifully silky again!

Assemble the Custard Cake

1. Once completely cooled, cut each of the cakes in half so you should have four thin cake layers. I use this cake leveler, but you can also use a serrated knife.
2. Start building your layers, first with cake, then a layer of custard buttercream, smoothing it out as you go. Add your second layer of cake on top and put on a slightly thinner layer of custard buttercream.
3. On top of the thinner layer of custard buttercream, pipe a border of buttercream around the outside of the middle layer, and fill the middle with half of the cold custard you reserved in the fridge. Add the next layer of cake on top
4. Add another generous layer of buttercream, followed by your final cake layer. Decorate the cake however you like - smooth, naked, semi-naked, or messy. Pipe some rosettes around the top of the cake and then pour the remaining custard on top of the cake, in the middle of the rosettes.

What is the Reverse Creaming Method?

The reverse creaming method basically takes everything you know about mixing cake ingredients together and flips it on its head! The result is a beautifully tender crumb that just succumbs to your fork as you go to take a bite. I knew I needed this cake to be as soft as clouds so that you could really appreciate the texture of the custard inside it.

Reverse creaming involves mixing your dry ingredients first, then slowly adding the butter into them to coat the flour in butter - this stops the gluten from forming, making the end result beautifully soft.

Then you add the wet ingredients and beat the mixture to develop a little gluten - just enough so the cake slices will have some structure! I use this method for a few of my other recipes, like my Berry Chantilly Cake and Mango Cupcakes. It's a completely different approach to mixing ingredients, but it gives an incredible result!

What makes this Custard Cake Custardy?

There are three main components to this custard cake: the vanilla sponge, the crème pâtissière filling, and the custard buttercream.

Vanilla Cake - Firstly, the sponge is flavored with vanilla - which many people mistake as being a 'plain' flavor - but it's not! Vanilla is actually an exotic and complicated flavor profile and is the foundation for a really good custard.

Creme Patissiere - Creme patissiere or pastry cream is basically custard. But it's made properly, not out of the custard powder you can buy in a store. It is the foundation for many French pastries and can be used by itself, like in crème brûlée, or to fill tarts, pastries, and other desserts. I also use it in my Strawberry Custard Tarts, and those are ALWAYS a huge hit!

Custard Buttercream - Custard Buttercream or German Buttercream is mostly comprised of whipped butter and custard. It's a traditional frosting for many German goodies and makes for a frosting that is sweet, creamy, and silky. I highly recommend it for any custard lovers.

How To Store Custard Cake

The custard needs to be stored in the fridge as it contains dairy, so you'll want to keep your custard cake refrigerated in an airtight container. It will store like this for up to 4 days.

More Custard Dessert Recipes

If you are a custard lover, you may enjoy some of these custard recipes!

Recipe