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Vanilla custard

Vanilla custard is a sweet, thickened preparation flavored with vanilla and used in desserts, fillings, and sauces.

Vanilla custard — illustrative ingredient image

About Vanilla custard

Vanilla custard is a sweet preparation made by thickening milk or cream with egg, starch, or both, and flavouring it with vanilla. It is served as a dessert, poured over fruit or puddings, and used in tarts, pastries, trifles, and chilled sweets.

Its flavour is sweet, creamy, and warmly aromatic, with vanilla ranging from subtle to pronounced. The texture may be smooth and pourable like a sauce, or thicker and spoonable when more egg or starch is used and the mixture is cooked further.

Vanilla custard ranges from pale cream to yellow. It may be sold ready-made, as a refrigerated dessert, or as a dry mix requiring preparation. Cooling, heating, and the choice of thickener affect its firmness and handling.

Ingredient type
compound ingredient

Forms & related ingredients

  • Cow Milkcontains · Vanilla custard → Cow Milk
  • Sugarcontains · Vanilla custard → Sugar
  • Vanillacontains · Vanilla custard → Vanilla
  • Creamcontains · Vanilla custard → Cream
  • Eggcontains · Vanilla custard → Egg

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Where vanilla custard appears

3 linked foods

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Desserts

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for vanilla custard

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Vanilla custard

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Vanilla custard nutrition & diet

Vanilla custard nutritional value

Reference: Custard, vanilla, regular fat

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
98.2kcal
Protein
3.2g
Carbs
14.6g
Fat
3.0g

Reference example for the named food and preparation, per 100 g edible portion. This is not a universal value for every recipe or brand; packaged products should be compared with their own label. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand. AFCD Release 3, food F003442. Available carbohydrate excludes sugar alcohols; energy converted from kJ to kcal (÷4.184). Australian data may not be appropriate for use in other countries. There are limitations associated with food composition databases. Food composition data used in the database or databases may represent an average of the nutrient content of a particular sample of foods and ingredients, determined at a particular time. The nutrient composition of foods and ingredients can vary substantially between batches and brands because of a number of factors, including changes in season, processing practices and ingredient source, and methods of calculation. Data licensed under the FSANZ Data User Licence Agreement, based on CC BY-SA 3.0 AU: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/monitoringnutrients/afcd/datauserlicenceagreement.

Portions & preparation

Assess the served custard as the prepared mixture, specifying thickness and whether it is eaten as a sauce, filling, or set dessert. Preparation may involve heating, chilling, straining, or baking. Record the actual vanilla form and any changes from added cream, starch, butter, fruit, pastry, or toppings.

Compare the right form: Match references to prepared vanilla custard in the same set, pourable, baked, or filled form, with its milk, egg, sugar, and thickener recipe.

Diet considerations

Vanilla custard commonly contains animal-derived milk, cream, or eggs, but the exact recipe must establish those ingredients. Starch or cereal thickeners, pastry shells, gelatin, and toppings can change compatibility and the carbohydrate pattern. Plant-based versions require an explicitly different recipe rather than assumption from the vanilla flavor.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Depends on the version
  • Pescatarian
    Depends on the version
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Typically incompatible
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
Recorded common ingredients: Cow Milk; Egg. The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative. Recipes and products can differ.
Vegetarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Pescatarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Typically incompatible
Recorded common ingredients: Cow Milk; Sugar. This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar). Recipes and products can differ.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: Australian Food Composition Database, Release 3, 2025 — Custard, vanilla, regular fat ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .