Our family loves Fruit Custard served chilled on a warm summer day as a sweet option that’s similar to Fruit Chaat. The balance of creaminess and sweetness made it a hit for backyard gatherings with our family friends during the summertime in Arizona. Other Indian summer desserts include Ras Malai, Rice Kheer, and plain Milk Barfi. Custard with fruit salad is a delicious combination of smooth, creamy custard and fresh, in-season fruits. The beauty of this dessert is that it is versatile and adaptable, allowing you to enjoy an assortment of your favorite fruits or enjoy seasonal picks for the best flavor. The custard base is simple in it’s preparation - using an eggless vanilla custard powder, milk, and sugar that is absolutely luscious. It’s an ideal dessert to prepare for experienced or novice home cooks. Top the fruit custard with additional chopped fruit and you have a visually stunning, yet simple Indian dessert.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
Custard Powder - I used Brown & Polson vanilla custard but any custard powder or vanilla pudding mix will work. You can easily make your own eggless custard powder at home with accessible pantry ingredients. If your custard powder is plain, be sure to add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Be sure to pay attention to the cooking instructions on the packaging in case you need to make any adjustments. Fruits - I recommend the following fruits for custard - strawberries, apples, banana, pomegranates, red or green grapes, mangos, papaya, kiwis, guava, or fuyu persimmons. Choose a mix of 4-5 fruits where a few are soft and a few that are crunchier. I also love tart fruits mixed in with a sweet ones. Milk - The custard is best made with whole milk, however you can use most alternatives except for almond milk which is more susceptible to curdling. Sugar - The fruits add a lot of great natural sweetness, but I find that it still needs added sugar to taste like a dessert. You can also stir in honey or maple syrup off heat into the prepared custard. Additional flavorings - To give that especially iconic Indian dessert taste, I like to add freshly ground green cardamom. Saffron and rosewater are great additions, too.
How to make Fruit Custard
Step 5 - The milk will thicken up after 3-4 minutes. You’re looking for a texture that is runny, yet thick enough to the coat the back of a spoon.
This recipe uses an eggless custard powder and still produces a delicious, luscious custard without needing to learn how to temper eggs. Use coconut milk for a vegan option. Fruit Custard relies mostly on the natural sweetness of fresh fruit and is therefore a fan favorite for people that enjoy light to moderately sweet desserts. The sugar can be increased or decreased based on preference. It’s a lovely, quick dessert that just needs a 30 minute chill time to be served cold. This fruit salad with an easy custard can be made year-round with whatever fruits are in season. It can also be made with dried fruit like apricots, figs, and Medjool dates with almonds and pistachios for a crunch.
In the same strain, avoid using citrus due to the high acidity and melons due to the high water content.
Variations
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Unfortunately, custard does not store well once the chopped fruit have been added. The fruit will release their juices over time, causing the custard to be runny. It’s still delicious, but not the thick luscious texture we are looking for. The custard can also be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days if prepping fruit custard for a party. Stir in rosewater if you’d like to before serving. Scoop a cup of custard into little dessert bowls. Top with the additional fruit that was set aside. To make a vegan fruit custard, use coconut milk instead of whole milk. Instead of fresh fruit, stir in dry fruits such as figs and apricots along with chopped nuts like almonds and pistachios for a bit of crunch. You can also stir in fruit jelly’s
Make the custard as instructed. Cover and chill separately from the fruit in the refrigerator up to 3 days before serving. When ready to serve, whisk the custard until it’s completely smooth and add the chopped fruit. If it’s too thick, add ¼ cup of milk to loosen the custard into a luscious texture again.
More Indian Desserts to try
Recipe
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