Who is this for?

Bakers making a biscuit-base cake

Check the weighed biscuit quantity for the base and count any whole biscuits needed on top. Silver Spoon’s custard cream cheesecake, for example, calls for 300g in its base and another 12 biscuits for decoration.

Bakers decorating a sponge cake

If the biscuits are going into frosting or onto the cake, choose a pack around those quantities rather than assuming a sharing-size pack is needed. Jane’s Patisserie uses crushed custard creams in frosting and additional biscuits on top.

Bakers accommodating an allergy

Check the current biscuit label and every other cake ingredient against the guest’s requirements. The standard Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s biscuits listed here contain wheat and milk; Sainsbury’s lists a separate gluten-free, milk-free product.

What should you check before buying?

Write down the biscuit weight and any separate whole-biscuit count before comparing packs; then check whether the particular biscuit fits the recipe and the people eating it.

Priority What to check Your needs
Quantity Compare the recipe’s biscuit weight in g with the pack’s net weight. Count decoration biscuits separately; pack weight does not tell you how many will remain intact. I need enough for both parts of the bake. Silver Spoon specifies 300g for a cheesecake base plus 12 custard creams to decorate, so a 300g pack alone does not cover both requirements.
Recipe method Check whether the biscuits are crushed for a base or frosting, or kept whole for decoration. Follow a custard-cream recipe’s biscuit and butter quantities rather than substituting a plain-biscuit ratio. For a base, I want quantities written for cream-filled biscuits; Jane’s Patisserie notes that the filling affects its cheesecake-base method.
Ingredients Read the current ingredients and allergen information for the exact variant. Check the rest of the cake recipe too; a free-from biscuit does not establish that the finished cake meets the same requirements. If a guest needs to avoid wheat or milk, I cannot judge suitability from the name “custard creams”. The standard Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s products listed here contain both.
Leftovers Compare the quantity the cake will use with the pack size. If biscuits will remain, follow that pack’s storage instructions after opening. I would rather choose a quantity I can use than leave much of a larger pack open after one cake.

Common buying mistakes

  • Treating “sharing size” as a recipe quantity

    A pack that covers the weighed base may not also provide the whole biscuits needed for decoration. Silver Spoon’s cheesecake requires 300g for its base and a further 12 biscuits.

    List weighed and whole-biscuit requirements separately, then check the pack before baking.

    You may need another pack if the base uses all the biscuits you weighed out.

  • Assuming every variant works the same way in a recipe

    M&S lists a 165g Extra Cream variant, while Jane’s Patisserie notes that custard-cream filling affects its cheesecake-base method. A result for a different biscuit or recipe does not establish how this variant will behave.

    Check the exact variant and follow a method written for cream-filled biscuits.

  • Judging allergen suitability by the biscuit name

    The standard Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s products listed here contain wheat and milk. Sainsbury’s separately lists a gluten-free, milk-free custard cream with different ingredients.

    Check the current packaging and every other ingredient in the finished cake against the guest’s requirements.

Brand and product-line references

These listed pack sizes provide points of comparison for a recipe; a brand name alone does not establish how its biscuits will perform in a cake.

Tesco

Tesco lists standard custard creams in a 400g pack.

  • The listed weight can be compared with a recipe’s measured biscuit requirement.
  • The ingredients include wheat and milk, and the listing says the product may contain sesame. The pack weight does not confirm a decoration count.

Asda

Asda lists standard custard creams in a 400g pack.

  • The listing gives a pack weight and suggests 34 servings.
  • Suggested servings are not a count of intact biscuits for decoration. The product contains wheat and milk; check its further may-contain advice.

McVitie’s

Morrisons lists McVitie’s Tasties Custard Creams Biscuits in a 300g pack.

  • The 300g weight matches the biscuit weight in Silver Spoon’s cheesecake base recipe.
  • That recipe also needs 12 biscuits for decoration. The Morrisons listing identifies wheat and milk allergens and says the product may contain sesame.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s lists a 200g standard custard cream and a separate 125g gluten-free, milk-free product.

  • The two labelled products offer different pack sizes and ingredient options to assess against a recipe.
  • The standard biscuit contains wheat and cows’ milk ingredients. The free-from product has different ingredients, so do not assume the same recipe result.

M&S

M&S lists a 165g Extra Cream Custard Creams variant.

  • M&S describes this variant as having more vanilla cream filling.
  • Its 165g pack is smaller than the 300g biscuit quantity in Silver Spoon’s cheesecake base. It is not the same 200g M&S product assessed in Good Housekeeping Institute’s 2020 taste test.

Morrisons

Morrisons lists its own-label standard custard creams in a 400g pack.

  • The listing provides a weight to compare with a measured base recipe and suggests 34 servings.
  • Servings do not establish the number of intact decoration biscuits. The product contains wheat and milk and may contain sesame.

Custard creams on Joybuy

This gluten-free custard cream option is a 125g pack to assess for a smaller bake or as part of a recipe requiring more biscuits. Check its current label against the requirements of everyone eating the cake.

Schar Gluten Free Custard Creams 125g pack

Schar Gluten Free Custard Creams 125g

For a cake requiring gluten-free custard creams, check this product’s current ingredient and allergen label alongside the rest of the recipe. One 125g pack is less than the 300g of biscuits specified for Silver Spoon’s cheesecake base, before its separate decoration requirement.

View on Joybuy

Questions about baking with custard creams

Will a 300g pack cover a cheesecake base and decoration?

Not for Silver Spoon’s recipe on its own: it specifies 300g of custard creams for the base and another 12 biscuits to decorate. Check the separate decoration quantity rather than counting the base biscuits twice.

Can I use the butter quantity from a digestive-biscuit base?

Use the quantities in your chosen custard-cream recipe instead. Silver Spoon specifies 300g of custard creams with 100g of butter, while Jane’s Patisserie notes that the cream filling affects its own cheesecake-base method; neither recipe establishes a universal substitution ratio.

How should I keep biscuits left after baking?

Follow the purchased pack’s instructions. Tesco specifies a cool, dry place, and the Tesco, Asda and Morrisons standard-biscuit listings advise an airtight container after opening.