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After your first spoonful of this Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard – I think you’ll agree with me that this is one of the creamiest and most decadent desserts you’ve ever eaten!
This Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard is smooth and luscious, and full of rich vanilla flavor. By adding some softened cream cheese to a traditional, egg-based custard – we’ve transformed a classic dessert into something your dinner guests will talk about for months.
Another great thing about this Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard? It looks super fancy and impressive, but it only takes about twenty minutes to prepare. Then – chill the custard until you are ready to serve. (You can even make this incredible dessert a day ahead of your special meal. It would be perfect for Mother’s Day dinner!)
To serve, spoon this Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard into individual serving bowls. Or – you can do what we did for our photos – place the chilled and thickened custard into a large pastry bag that has been fitted with a star tip. Then, pipe the Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard into individual dessert glasses before garnishing with a fresh strawberry.
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Vanilla Cream Cheese Custard
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 20 minutes
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Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup corn starch
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
4 ounces softened cream cheese
Fresh strawberries, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the milk, the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and the corn starch. Whisk until well blended.
In a small sauce pan, heat the remaining 2 cups of milk with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the scraped vanilla seeds with the pod. Heat to a simmer then remove the pod and discard.
While whisking, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture, making sure to whisk continually.
Pour the entire custard mixture back into the pan and heat just until it thickens up, which should be very quickly.
Reduce to low heat, add the softened cream cheese and beat with the whisk while cooking for about one minute to form a thick creamy custard.
Pour into a large serving bowl (or individual ramekins). Cover with plastic wrap, pushing down on the plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the custard (this will prevent a skin from forming on the top.) Refrigerate and cool completely before serving.
Spoon into individual serving dishes once chilled. Or, as we show in our photos, place the chilled and thickened custard into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe into individual serving dishes or martini glasses. Garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.
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Crème Brûlée
Classic Cheesecake
Martha
Martha is part of the husband-wife team that creates A Family Feast. She loves to cook and entertain for family and friends, and she believes that serving a great meal is one of the best ways to show someone that you care. Martha is a self-taught home cook, who loves to read cookbooks and try new recipes. After a decades-long career in business and online marketing, she now runs A Family Feast full-time. Her specialties are baking, desserts, vegetables and pasta dishes.
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Updated: 1/22/23
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Sonja says Is it possible to substitute the granulated sugar with 100% maple nectar or maple syrup to enhance the flavour and natural golden colour to the creme ?
Bon Apetit !
Kind regards
SonjaReply
- Martha says
Hi Sonja – We’ve only made the recipe as written. I’m not sure if swapping in a liquid sweetener will change the consistency of the custard, but I’m sure the maple flavor would be delicious!
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- N.Stewart says
This sounds almost as yummy as creme burlee – if I put into individual ramekins when placing into fridge and then sprinkle sugar on to top and use blow touch wouldn’t this work?
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- Martha says
Hi – This is a denser cheesecake-like custard vs the softer egg custard in a creme brulee. I’m not sure if you’d get the same effect! If you try it, please let us know how it comes out.
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- Nas says
Hello I have just tried to make this recipe. We have put the custard into the fridge but it’s not becoming hard. Do you know why this is happening? Thank you
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- Martha says
Hi Nas – It’s difficult for me to tell since I’m not in the kitchen with you. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Did you add the corn starch and eggs yolks? (Both the corn starch and egg yolks help to thicken the mixture.) Good luck!
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- Jas says
Hi, can I make this few days before to frost on the cake. Or make one day before will be better?
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- Martha says
Hi Jas – I think a day ahead would be best (any recipe with dairy will start to separate after a few days).
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- Lindsey Rojas says
I made this for a berry tart and it was amazing! I was wondering how this would work with chocolate and what adjustments you’d need to make to the recipe. It’s difficult to find a really good chocolate custard recipe.
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- Martha says
Hi Lindsey – So glad you enjoyed the recipe! You could try adding in some cocoa powder – and I’m guessing you might need to adjust the sweetness (depending on if you use sweetened or non-sweetened cocoa powder). Also, since the cocoa powder would absorb some of the liquid, you’ll need to adjust for that too. Please let us know how it comes out!
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- Pat Suther says
Really great love these
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- Martha says
Thanks Pat!
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- ruthie says
You know, you could do this with a citrus curd for something totally divine. Thanks for the great idea!
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- Martha says
Oh definitely Ruthie! We have a great lemon curd recipe (https://www.afamilyfeast.com/lemon-curd/) – adding cream cheese would be totally decadent! 🙂
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- Sue says
Can this be used as a filling for a cake. Looks yummy
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- Martha says
Hi Sue – Yes – you could adjust the thickness of the custard and use it as a cake filling.
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- Arti says
Hi Martha, I’m looking to use this to fill a cake, however what thickness should I be looking for and at what point? Would it be when cooking the custard mixture back in the pan? Thank you!
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- Martha says
Hi Arti – Before you add the cream cheese, the custard should easily stick to the back of a spoon without being overly drippy. After the cream cheese is added, it should be the consistency of a thicker pastry cream (such as what you’d pipe into a cannolli). I hope that helps.
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- Sue says
Is it possible to use vanilla instead of a bean? If so, how much would you guess? Thanks.
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- Martha says
Sure Sue! I’d suggest starting with two teaspoons of vanilla. Then, taste the custard and you could always stir in a little more vanilla if you want a stronger flavor. Hope that helps!
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- Pam Luttenberger says
Question: How many does this recipe serve?
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- Martha says
Thank you for your comment Pam – It helped me realize I left out some of the recipe information. This makes 8 servings – or more if you serve it in smaller portions. (It is very rich and delicious!) Hope you enjoy the recipe!
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