Cardamom Spiced Custard ~ Sri Lankan Watalappan

Name: Cardamom Spiced Custard ~ Sri Lankan Watalappan
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup jaggery; 1/2 cup cashew milk (I used Silk Vanilla Cashew Milk); 1/2 cup almond milk (I used Silk Vanilla Almond Milk); 6 eggs; 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

ByShashi CharlesUpdated on March 24, 2025

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This Sri Lankan Watalappan is a delicious, creamy Cardamom Spiced Custard. It is a spin on traditional custard that is made with dairy-free milk, jaggery, eggs, aromatic vanilla, and cardamom!

Sri Lankan Watalappan Cardamom Spiced Custard #SwapMilk4Silk

It always amazes me how siblings can be so different. Take my sister and me for example; I have a wicked sweet tooth and she doesn’t.

If I had the hypothetical option of a last meal – I would chose the chocolate cake that Bruce Bogtrotter in Matilda was made to eat, while my sister would chose nachos and chips and Texas burgers!

But, one dessert that she would actually enjoy putting her chips and burgers down for is our mom’s “Watalappan!“

Watalappan (pronounced wha-ta-lup-pahn) is the Sri Lankan version of traditional custard.

Instead of using cream and sugar and milk, the Sri Lankan version calls for coconut milk, jaggery, and eggs.

“Jaggery” (a very popular sweetener in Sri Lanka) happens to be an unrefined sugar that is made mostly from the sap of palm trees; sometimes, it is also made from sugar cane juice. It is slightly less sweeter than maple syrup and, some say it even has medicinal properties.

While my mom has perfected the art of making Watalappan, I just recently started making it. I’ve made mistakes along the way – one time over-baking it in a too hot oven that resulted in bubble-filled Watalappan that looked more like an Aero bar!

And, then there was this other time when it was just too runny and looked more like a sauce than a custard. I’ve since learned that since I prefer a thicker custard, I need to add more eggs and not overbake it or raise the temperature of the oven.

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Recently, I tried making Watalappan with cashew milk and almond milk as I had run out of coconut milk. I had just gotten back from my trip to the grocery store, where I had grabbed a carton of non-GMO and non-dairy, Silk Vanilla Cashew Milk and a 6 pack of Shelf-stable Silk Single Serve Vanilla Milk pouches, and figured I would use these and try my own twist on my mom’s classic recipe.

And – what you see here is the result of my experimenting.

While the texture was not as “silky” as my mom’s version, I had her taste some of this and she was shocked that I hadn’t used full fat coconut milk as she said it tasted wonderfully creamy and delicious and not nutty at all!

What are the ingredients needed to make this Sri Lankan Watalappan AKA Cardamom Spiced Custard?

Jaggery
Cashew milk
Almond Milk
6 eggs
Cardamom powder
Salt
Vanilla extract

Directions to make Watalappan:

• Jaggery comes packed in these almost cone-sphere shapes; so first shave off enough to fill up 1 cup

• Then add it to a pan over a low flame, along with 1/2 cup of Silk Vanilla Cashew Milk and 1/2 cup Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and stir till jaggery melts. Then let cool a tad bit
• Mix in 6 eggs (5 for a less thick custard)
• Add 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder and 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pour into 4 ramekins
• Place ramekins in a bigger tray and fill this with water so water line lines up with custard
• Place this in an oven that has been pre-heated to 350 degrees, and let bake/steam for 40 minutes
• Remove and let cool – Watalappan tastes even better when it has sit in the fridge overnight!