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
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
2½ 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.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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Will this set up like a cheesecake or would it need more cream cheese for that? I’m thinking this would be a great starting point for a creme brulee cheesecake.
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Hi Chris – This custard is fairly thick for a custard, but not as thick as a cheesecake. Hope that helps!
How do you think this would turn out without the corn starch?
Hi Tessa – The custard won’t be as thick without the corn starch.
I made a strawberry version of this recipe and put it in a shortbread tart shell. Everyone loved it. The difference is that I used freeze dried strawberries and that spreadable strawberry cream cheese. The custard was delicious on it’s own, but with the tart shell it made a fantastic dessert. Thanks. Maybe I will try the vanilla one next. If you look on my website, it’s the picture with the close up of the tart, with whipped cream and a strawberry on top, under the food photography link.
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Great idea for adapting the recipe Rob!
Very easy to make with a nice creamy texture. Be sure to continually whisk the mixture. I used a double boiler (Pasta pot and metal mixing bowl) to reduce the possibility of burning. The mixture will start to clump up that’s when I added the cream cheese, removed from the heat, and whisked until smooth. I continued to whisk adding the remainder of the cream cheese until the entire mixture was smooth. I’m going to pipe this custard into profiteroles. Looking forward to sharing these along with this delicious recipe.
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Thanks for the suggestions Brian!
Super delish! And just for some seasonal fun I added a can of pumpkin puree and 2 teaspoons of pie spice the next time I made it. The custard held up and it was so creamy and perfect, in the spirit of cheesecake I put a graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cups. Big hit!
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Great idea Wendy!
You mention that this could be used as a filling for a cake. How would you adjust the ingredients to do that? Thank you in advance!
Hi Claire – It’s a fairly firm custard as is – there really is no need to modify the recipe.
Was looking for a different, filling for the angel food cake roll I make.
This hit the spot, added blueberries, and was very happy with out come!
THANKS
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You’re welcome Dawn!
Very delicious! I tried it as is but with homemade vanilla extract instead and it came out amazing! I decided to use this filling for the pate a choux in my croquembouche since I wanted a custard with cream cheese in it. I wanted it to take on a tiramisu flavor so I added 4 more oz of cream cheese and 11/2 tsp of hazelnut coffee liqueur and it turned out just the way I had hoped. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
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You’re welcome Martha! Sounds like you made some amazing recipes!
Can I substitute eggnog for milk ?
Hi Marcia – We’ve never tried swapping in eggnog – I think it would work. (Please let us know how it comes out!)
I love custard, and I’m always trying new variations. However, the experimenting is over because this is the creamiest, most luxurious custard I’ve ever tasted! Cream cheese…who knew? Thank you so much!
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I agree – who knew!? 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe Tammy!
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
Sonja
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!
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?
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.
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
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!
Hi, can I make this few days before to frost on the cake. Or make one day before will be better?
Hi Jas – I think a day ahead would be best (any recipe with dairy will start to separate after a few days).
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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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!
Really great love these
Thanks Pat!
You know, you could do this with a citrus curd for something totally divine. Thanks for the great idea!
Oh definitely Ruthie! We have a great lemon curd recipe (https://www.afamilyfeast.com/lemon-curd/) – adding cream cheese would be totally decadent! 🙂
Can this be used as a filling for a cake. Looks yummy
Hi Sue – Yes – you could adjust the thickness of the custard and use it as a cake filling.
Is it possible to use vanilla instead of a bean? If so, how much would you guess? Thanks.
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!
Question: How many does this recipe serve?
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!