Before I found the recipe for this absolutely marvellous custard cake, I had a tin of Bird’s Custard powder that expired in 2009 languishing in my cupboard, who knows how long it had been there.
Don’t worry, I didn’t use the expired custard powder in this cake, I went out and got a fresh one.
But doesn’t it make you wonder what else from centuries ago I have lurking in my pantry?

I got the tin of custard powder solely because my mom used to make it when we were kids; I could never make my custard to taste the way hers did even though I followed her instructions carefully.
I gave up and chucked the custard to the back of the cupboard since I couldn’t come up with any other uses for it.
I found this recipe by chance while indulging in my favourite pastime; foodgawker
Aparna is the amazing food blogger behind My Diverse Kitchen, and you probably should stop reading this right now and go check out her blog – that’s ok, I’ll wait for you.
Did you see her awesome market day tour?
Her blog is a great resource for egg-free baking, which I’m all about.

Anyway, back to the cake… this is a lovely cake; moist and dense and wonderful with tea.
The flavour is mellow and it pairs well with ice cream for a luscious dessert.
And what a great way to use up my custard powder, although recently using it to make vanilla sauce…, which is also awesome.
I know custard powder isn’t very popular in North America, thankfully I live in Vancouver where you can find almost everything, I didn’t even have to go to a specialty store; the Safeway on Robson & Denman stock them.

Check out the recipe I used here.
Oh yeah, Did I mention that it’s divine with ice cream and slow roasted strawberries…?