Avoid that pesky milk powder in shop bought biscuits with this recipe for vegan Custard Creams! Homemade is always better and this dairy-free recipe is easy and fun to make.
So, it turns out custard powder is actually vegan.
Better yet, I found a custard powder that is completely natural (no nasty artificial colours or flavourings) in my local health food shop.
Once I discovered this, I knew I had to make some custard creams!
They're a classic British biscuit and a particular favourite of mine.
I used the same biscuit base recipe as I did for the Vegan Jammie Dodgers I made a couple of weeks back and even experimented with a gluten-free option which I'm pleased to say tasted really good!
Simply swap the plain flour for gluten-free all purpose flour and making sure the custard powder you're using doesn't contain any hidden gluten ingredients.
I couldn't find a rectangular cookie cutter so I improvised and use a lid of a Colman's mustard tin!
Worked perfectly... although ideally I would have loved to use this custard cream cookie stamp - how cute is it??
But since it's Valentines day soon I used some small heart shaped cookie cutters to emboss some heart patterns on the top instead :-)
More British Biscuits Veganised:
📖 Recipe
Vegan Custard Creams
A classic British biscuit made vegan-friendly with a gluten-free option too!
Ingredients
- 150 g / ⅔ cup vegan butter, I used Vitalite dairy-free spread
- 2 tbsp custard powder
- 75 g / ⅓ cup caster sugar
- 180 g / 1½ cups plain flour, can substitute equal amounts of gluten-free all purpose flour
Custard cream filling
- 75 g / ⅓ cup vegan butter, I used Vitalite dairy-free spread
- 125 g / 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp custard powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 370F and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter, custard powder and sugar until smooth.
- Add the flour in a small amount at a time and continue to mix the dough until completely smooth and it balls together. If it's still crumbly, keep mixing or add a little more butter.
- Knead the dough until smooth and roll to about ½ cm thickness. Use a rectangular cookie cutter to cut out the cookie shapes and transfer them to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Leave to cool whilst you prepare the custard filling.
- Whisk the vegan butter and gradually add in the icing sugar and custard powder. Don't thin it out as it needs to be thick.
- Once the biscuits are cooled, pipe (or spoon) the custard buttercream filling on half the biscuits and sandwich with the rest of the cookies.
- Keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 1 day at room temperature. Enjoy!
Michelle-Louise says
They look so yummy omg
Angela says
I've just made these! I followed the recipe to the letter (which I can because you always give the English quantities along with the US ones, thankyou) and they are perfect I wouldn't change a thing.
Aimee says
So happy to hear you enjoyed them, Angela! Thanks for the lovely comment :-)
Niki says
Hi, I have a mega charity bake for Christmas around work hours. Is it possible to make the biscuit dough in advance and freeze it? Many thanks
Aimee says
Hi Niki. Honestly, I've never tried it but see no reason why it would work any differently to regular biscuit dough. Just make sure it's wrapped really well to prevent freezer burn and give it plenty of time to de-frost. Best of luck with your charity bake :-)
Carolyn says
I'm going to have to try these (and the midget gems!) as my children like custard creams. I've never been a huge fan - but I love Bourbons. Any change you're going to try and invent a vegan recipe for those? (Especially as there's a nationwide shortage at the moment due to the factory flooding)
Aimee says
Yes, next on my list Carolyn! Stay tuned... Let me know if you give them a try :-)
Carolyn says
I eagerly await the recipe! :-)
Leek says
They are soooo good! I bought a custard cream stamp online to complete the look. The only thing I'll say is I had to add A LOT of flour to get them more dough like and I don't think they need THAT much icing sugar, but NOOOOM!