Problembeginnerdraft
Custard or pudding turns lumpy
Also searched as: curdled custard, lumpy pudding, grainy crème brûlée
In short: Either the egg has curdled or the starch has formed lumps.
Picture it
Like scrambled egg in the custard.
What happened in your kitchen?
Question 1
Is there starch or custard powder in the recipe?
All causes, by frequency
- Too hot, egg curdled
Above about 80 °C the egg yolk curdles into crumbs.
Next time: Pour straight through a sieve into a cold bowl and smooth with a stick blender · Next time use a water bath and stir constantly
- Starch not dispersed
Starch added straight to hot milk forms lumps.
Next time: Mix the starch with a little cold milk first · Whisk it in
- Not stirred
At the bottom of the pan it gets hotter and curdles first.
Next time: Stir constantly, across the bottom too
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Milch, Zucker, Schokolade