La Bouille Recipe (pronounced boo-YEE) is an old-fashioned dessert from South Louisiana. It's a light, creamy, buttery vanilla custard that's quick and easy to make. This Cajun comfort food is served hot or cold, sometimes with cake or in a sweet dough tart.
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La Bouille is a go-to dessert recipe made with simple ingredients by many Cajun cooks. Some recall it as a welcome after-school sweet treat poured on a moist yellow cake. It's comfort food at its best!
Looking for more classic desserts from the bayou country?
Here's a King Cake Recipe: A Traditional Version. It has the flavors of cinnamon sugar swirled in tender bread dough, baked to perfection, and then iced with sprinkles of purple, green, and gold sugar. You can also fill it with this La Bouille custard.
The Louisiana Crunch Cake, A Coconutty Southern Recipe, is a lovely, moist, buttery pound cake with a golden brown sugar coating on the outside. It has drizzles of cane syrup glaze and is topped with crunchy toasted coconut flakes and pecans-the perfect Southern coffee cake!
Another moist and delicious cake is this Cajun Cake Recipe: Pineapple, Coconut, Pecan Cake. It's so easy -you don't even have to get the mixer out.
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Ingredients
The usual ingredients in custard-based desserts are milk, sugar, and a thickener, which are cooked over low heat to achieve the right consistency. These similar bouille ingredients elevate a plain custard to a luxury experience-that's what Cajun cooks are good at!
- Evaporated milk - canned milk has about 60% of the water removed from cow's milk, giving it a rich taste and texture.
- Whole milk - or 2% milk.
- Water - tap or filtered mixed with the milk for the custard recipe.
- Egg yolks - yolks from large eggs work best to thicken and add texture to the
- Sugar - just enough sweetness of granulated white sugar.
- Corn starch- the perfect thickener for puddings and custards.
- Butter - salted butter because it makes everything better, adding flavor and a silky smooth sheen.
- Vanilla extract - use real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste instead of imitation vanilla flavoring.
See the recipe card below for specific ingredient quantities and nutrition facts.
Instructions
The creamy, light vanilla custard is so easy to prepare - don't hesitate to make a batch when you need a quick dessert.
- Pour evaporated milk, whole milk, and water into a large 4-cup measuring cup, and heat for 4 minutes on high in the microwave oven, or pour the milk into a medium saucepan and heat over the stove until steaming hot.
- Place the egg yolks in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot and whisk with a wire whisk until smooth.
- Mix in the sugar while whisking the egg yolks, and stir until the mixture is light yellow and the sugar has melted from the stirring, or is no longer grainy.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the egg and sugar mixture; it will thicken.
- Combine the egg mixture with the hot milk by pouring a little bit in at a time, slowly blending it in so it doesn't curdle, and cook the egg.
- Place the pot on the stove and turn the burner to medium heat; stir and simmer the custard until it thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn the stove off and stir in the butter until it melts.
- Add the vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- Serve hot or cold, sometimes with cake or in a sweet dough tart.
Hint: After the bouille recipe is cooked, place it in a large mixing bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard before a skin forms.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. Warm the custard up before serving, or serve as is.
Top Tip
Slowly whisk the milk into the yolk mixture until smooth, with little to no lumps.
Substitutions
- Try using canned cream of coconut instead of canned evaporated milk for a non-dairy substitute.
- Non-dairy milks, such as almond or coconut, can substitute for whole milk.
Variations
- La bouille is a simple treat; serve it in a dessert dish with berries, crushed cookies, and/or whipped cream.
- Spoon custard over a freshly baked cake or add a piece of cake into the dessert dish filled with bouille.
- The custard can be used between the fruit and cake layers in a trifle, a British dessert.
- Use the La Bouille recipe for a creamy filling between chocolate or coconut cake layers.
- Add a layer of smashed bananas over a vanilla or butter cake before topping with this delightful custard; it will taste like a banana pudding.
Equipment
FAQ
Bouille is a sweet or savory custard from South Louisiana. It is usually made with eggs, milk, and flour or cornstarch.
It's a traditional Cajun dessert of a simple homemade sheet cake topped with a delicious egg custard sauce made with sugar, milk, and flour.
Tarte à La Bouillie translates to 'burnt milk' cake. It's a traditional Cajun dessert of vanilla egg custard baked in a pie crust. The sweet dough pie crust turns golden brown, and the custard thickens to a rich, creamy filling.
Related
Looking for other traditional Southern recipes like this La Bouille Recipe? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve or use with the la bouille recipe:
📖 Recipe
La Bouille Recipe, Old Fashioned Cajun Custard
This is the creamiest vanilla custard you'll ever taste! Its buttery taste is perfect served alone, with a simple cake, or in a sweet tart dough.
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup water
- 3 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour evaporated milk, whole milk, and water into a large 4-cup measuring cup, and heat for 4 minutes on high in the microwave oven, or pour the milk into a medium saucepan and heat over the stove until steaming hot.
- Place the egg yolks in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot and whisk with a wire whisk until smooth.
- Mix in the sugar while whisking the egg yolks, and stir until the mixture is light yellow and the sugar has melted from the stirring, or is no longer grainy.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the egg and sugar mixture; it will thicken.
- Combine the egg mixture with the hot milk by pouring a little at a time, slowly blending until the eggs don't curdle (cook) and the mixture is smooth.
- Place the pot on the stove and turn the burner to medium heat; stir and simmer the custard until it thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn the stove off, then stir in the butter until melted.
- Add the vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for several days; this may be warmed up before serving.
Notes
- Slowly stir the milk into the yolk mixture with a whisk so the consistency will be smooth and with little to no lumps.
- After the bouille recipe is cooked, place it in a large bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard before a skin forms.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Cajun
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Stella Durke says
Love these old time recipes !!
Louisiana Woman says
Thank you, Stella! I do, too!