Custard Powder Ice Cream: Milk, Sugar and One Spoonful of Patience
There are three ingredients and one liter of milk. A small portion of that milk is set aside for the custard powder. The base freezes twice: first to half-set, when you whisk it once, and then overnight to finish.
A pan of pale, thickened milk sits off the heat, cooling completely before it goes anywhere near the freezer. Hours later it comes back out only half-set. That is when the whisk comes in, for two minutes. Then the base goes into a bowl and back into the freezer overnight.
This is custard powder ice cream made with vanilla-flavored custard powder, sugar and milk. Nothing else goes into it. The amounts and steps follow a recipe by Suguna Vinodh, published on Kannamma Cooks in September 2017. In the post, the author describes it as a three-ingredient recipe and says she used plain vanilla custard powder.
One small move shapes the whole method. Before any heat is involved, 1/4 cup of milk is taken out of the full liter and mixed with the custard powder to make a slurry. According to the author, custard powder does not mix well when added straight into the whole quantity of milk, so it is loosened in a little milk first. The reserved milk comes from the liter. It is not extra. She also explains that whisking the half-set base breaks up large ice crystals and makes the ice cream smoother. That is her explanation, not a guaranteed result.
This recipe has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan. The amounts, order, heat level, times and finished states below come from the source recipe.
Where This Recipe Comes From, and What It Is Not
The recipe card on Kannamma Cooks labels the cuisine "Indian," and that is the label used here. The source does not describe where this ice cream came from, which regions or households make it, or when it is eaten. This article does not fill those gaps.
It is also not kulfi. Kulfi is a separate dish, and this milk-and-custard-powder formula should not be called by that name. For a wider look at the country's food on this site, see India.
Ingredients: Three Foods, One Liter of Milk
The 1/4 cup of milk for the slurry is part of the 1 liter, not added on top of it. Measure it out of the full quantity before you start, and heat only what remains.
Equipment
- Measuring cup
- Small bowl and a spoon, for the slurry
- Saucepan
- Balloon whisk
- Bowl for the freezer
- Freezer
Choosing the Custard Powder, Sugar and Milk
Use plain vanilla custard powder and milk. No particular brand of powder or fat content of milk is set.
Because the powder's composition is unknown, this article makes no claim that the ice cream is egg-free, vegan, allergen-free or suitable for any particular diet.
This version also adds nothing else. There is no cream, condensed milk, egg, vanilla extract, gelatin, fruit, nuts or mint. Keeping to the three ingredients is what makes this recipe this recipe.
Custard powder products differ in composition. If you are cooking for someone with allergies or dietary restrictions, check the product you buy yourself. Do not rely on this recipe to tell you whether it is suitable.
Method: Slurry, Simmer, Cool, Freeze, Whisk, Freeze Again
- Make a slurry with reserved milk.
- Heat the remaining milk, then add the sugar and then the slurry.
- Cook over medium heat until it boils and thickens.
- Cool completely.
- Freeze for 3–4 hours until half-set.
- Whisk once for 2 minutes.
- Move the base to a bowl and freeze it overnight.
The half-set stage is a midpoint. The ice cream is finished only after the overnight freeze.
When Something Seems Off
Most problems with this recipe come from the order of the steps, so check the order first.
| What you notice | Likely reason | What the recipe does |
|---|---|---|
| The powder won't blend into the milk | It went straight into the whole quantity of milk | The author makes a slurry with 1/4 cup of reserved milk first, then adds it to the pan |
| The base seems thinner than expected | Extra milk was added for the slurry | The slurry milk comes out of the 1 liter. Use 1 liter in total |
| The base hasn't thickened on the stove | It hasn't reached the source's endpoint yet | Cook over medium heat until it boils and is well thickened. The source gives 3–4 minutes |
| The ice cream is still soft after the first freeze | This is the half-set stage | Half-set is the point to whisk, not the finish. Whisk for 2 minutes, then freeze overnight |
| You aren't sure when to start freezing | The base may still be warm | The base should be completely cooled before the first freeze |
Other Custard Powder Ice Creams Are Different Recipes
You will find other custard powder ice cream recipes online, and they are not variations of this one. They have their own formulas and methods, so don't mix their steps into this recipe.
- Raks Kitchen. This page uses vanilla custard powder, sugar and milk, but also adds cream. It has a first freeze of about an hour and repeated whipping with a mixer. The post body describes it as a guest post by Jeyashri, while the recipe card credits Raks Anand.
- Yummy Tummy Aarthi. This page adds vanilla essence and cream. It uses a longer first freeze, blends the base with the cream, and then refreezes. The page title calls its recipe "eggless," but that is a description of that recipe only. It says nothing about the custard powder used here.
This article keeps to one version: vanilla custard powder, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 liter of milk, and a single 2-minute pass with a hand whisk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two things matter most. The slurry milk comes from inside the liter. The ice cream is finished only after the overnight freeze.
How much milk goes into the slurry?
Use 1/4 cup, taken from the full 1 liter. It is not extra milk; the rest of the liter is what you heat in the pan.
How much sugar should I use?
Use 3/4 cup, the amount the author chose for this recipe.
When do I whisk?
Whisk after the base has cooled completely and then frozen for 3–4 hours until about half set. Whisk once, by hand, for 2 minutes.
Is the ice cream done after the first freeze?
No. After the half-set stage you whisk it, move it to a bowl, and freeze it overnight. Only then is it finished.
How much does it make?
The source recipe card lists a yield of 1 1/4 liter. That figure comes from the card and has not been measured by Sekai Gohan.
Can I convert the cups to grams?
No conversions are given. The recipe card lists the milk as "1 liter (4 cups)," which we read, for this recipe only, as a 250 mL cup. That is an editorial reading of the card, not a cup standard the source defines, and the milk pairing may be nominal. The source does not define the cup for the custard powder or the sugar, so they stay in cups and are not converted to grams.
Can I use a different powder or method?
This article does not offer substitutions for this fixed recipe. The brand and composition of the custard powder are not specified in the source, so the article also makes no claims about dietary suitability.
Sources
- Suguna Vinodh, "Custard Powder Ice Cream Recipe," Kannamma Cooks, September 2017. The sole basis for this recipe: the author attribution, the three ingredients and their source amounts (1/4 cup custard powder, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 liter milk (4 cups)), reserving 1/4 cup of the milk for the slurry, the order of heating, medium heat for 3–4 minutes until boiling and thickened, complete cooling, the 3–4 hour freeze to half-set, the 2-minute whisk, transfer to a bowl, the overnight freeze, the author's explanations of the slurry and whisking, the card's yield, and the page's "Indian" cuisine label. https://www.kannammacooks.com/custard-powder-ice-cream-recipe/
- Raks Kitchen, "Custard powder ice cream recipe | Homemade ice cream." Used for comparison only: a separate formula with cream, a first freeze of about an hour and repeated mixer whipping. The post body describes a guest post by Jeyashri; the recipe card credits Raks Anand. https://rakskitchen.net/custard-powder-ice-cream-recipe/
- Aarthi, "Eggless Custard Powder Ice Cream Recipe," Yummy Tummy Aarthi. Used for comparison only: a separate formula with vanilla essence and cream, a longer first freeze, blending and refreezing. Its title does not describe the powder used in this recipe. https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/eggless-custard-powder-ice-cream-recipe/
