Dairy Free Coconut Custard (2024)

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This dairy free coconut custard is a creamy, dreamy dessert that coconut lovers will go nuts for. It’s full of sweet coconut flavor and this custard can be eaten by itself or be used in place of regular pastry cream.

If you’re a regular reader around here (thank you if you are!), then you know that coconut is my jam. I love it so much, I’d pretty much say that it’s a coconut obsession. Today’s coconut post? Dairy free coconut custard.

You guys, this coconut custard is amazing with a capital A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. There’s enough coconut flavor to taste the coconut without being overwhelming for those who don’t love coconut as much as I do. I also added a bit of unsweetened coconut into the custard itself, which is optional, and I topped mine with some extra toasted coconut.

Told you it’s a coconut obsession.

This dairy free coconut custard is actually a precursor to a recipe I’ll be sharing with you next month – a coconut cake. It’s a cake I’m making for my birthday. Yes, I make my own birthday cake.

I actually just made it a week ago for my brother-in-law’s birthday. I was tasked with making the cake and he didn’t request a specific flavor, just “one that everyone can eat”. Which meant it had to be gluten free for Adam, lactose/dairy free for Kelsey and my mother-in-law, PLUSnut freeAND chocolate free for my mother-in-law.

I thought about making my pineapple upside-down cake or my Funfetti cake but I kind of wanted to do something different. Since my grandfather-in-law and I both love coconut and it met all of the above criteria, that’s what I went with. I had my fingers crossed that Erik liked coconut too!

Spoiler – he did. And the cake was a HIT. So much so that I decided I wanted it for myself too.

Any-who, this coconut custard is a used twice in the cake which is why I wanted to post it now. It’s a really versatile recipe because you can eat the custard by itself like a pudding or you can use it in recipes as a sub for pastry cream. It’s so good you’ll want to start eating it with everything. Enjoy!

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4.65 from 187 ratings

Ingredients

1 13.5 oz can full-fat coconut milk
5 egg yolks
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/4 C tapioca flour or cornstarch
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
toasted coconut for topping optional

Instructions

Add the milk to a medium sized saucepan and heat over medium-low heat.
While the milk is heating, add the egg yolks, sugar, and tapioca flour to a medium-sized glass bowl. Whisk together to combine (mixture will be clumpy) and set aside.
Whisk the milk occasionally until it starts to steam - do not boil. Remove the milk from the heat and while whisking, pour a little milk (about 1/2 cup) into the egg mixture - do not stop whisking.
Continue to simultaneously whisk and slowly pour the remaining milk into the egg mixture. When all the milk has been poured into the bowl, give the mixture a good stir and then pour it back into the saucepan.
Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, whisking almost constantly, until it starts to get thick like pudding and bubble. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
See Also
Mind-Blowing Vegan Chocolate Pie
*Place a strainer over a clean bowl and pour the custard into the strainer. Stir and push the custard through the strainer, leaving any clumps behind.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and cool to room temperature. When cool, refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

*Straining is optional but will remove any impurities/clumps in the custard.

When placing the plastic wrap on the custard, make sure it is actually touching the custard (like you're putting a band-aid on it). That will prevent a thick skin layer from forming on top of the custard.