Fruit Salad with Vegan Custard

VeganMofo Day 16: Rice Milk that I bought from Trader Joe's is still sitting in my fridge waiting to be used. The consistency of the milk is very thin, almost water like and I can't see myself using it in my morning coffee (I started to like my coffee with soy milk these days). So after using it in these cupcakes and smoothie, I wanted to try and see how it would work in a custard. 

Back home in India, my mom always made custard using the box mix, which is basically corn starch with added flavoring. I didn't know that custards were traditionally made with eggs until I came to the US. For the vegan custard I used the ready to use custard powder.

Rice milk is 99% fat free and I was concerned if the custard would set or not. To make it work, I used more of the custard powder than what the instructions on the box said.

Ingredients:
For the Custard:

Rice Milk - 2 cups

Custard powder - ¼cup (I used Mango flavored custard powder)
Sugar (or Agave nectar) - ½cup

For the Fruit Salad:
Fruit of your choice - I used apples, pears, bananas, grapes
Almonds - toasted

 

Method:

• Combine ¼cup of milk with the custard powder in a small bow, mix well and set aside.
• Bring the remaining milk and sugar (agave nectar) to a boil in a saucepan. Remove the pan from heat and slowly add the custard mixture while whisking it in constantly.
• Place the saucepan back on heat and cook on medium flame, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. Continue cooking for 2 minutes. 
• Remove from the heat and let cool slightly before refrigerating to cool completely.
• To serve, place fruit in a serving bowl and top with the custard and sprinkle the nuts. Enjoy immediately.