Pastry cream is a warm cream made from milk, egg yolk and sugar as well as a thickening ingredient: such as cornstarch and/or flour. The additional ingredient here: pure vanilla, for an easy, ultra-delicious and flavourful recipe
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Add the vanilla, either the pod split in two lengthwise and its seeds scraped out with the blade of a knife, or the vanilla extract.
Mix and let it infuse. In a mixing bowl, pour the sugar and egg yolks. Whisk to whiten them.
Add the cornstarch, possibly sifted, and mix.
Add the vanilla milk
Heat the milk. Stop at the first simmer and remove the vanilla pod. Do NOT throw it away.
Slowly pour half of the hot milk into the egg – sugar – cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Then pour the mixture obtained back into the saucepan. Mix immediately.
Cook
Return the pan to the heat. Heat over medium-high heat while stirring constantly and making sure to cover all areas of the bottom of the pan whilst mixing.
The mixture will gradually thicken. From the first boil, allow 3 minutes of cooking per liter of milk, so here 1 minute and a half don't stop whisking.
Remove from heat and pour into a container. Add the butter (50 gr) and mix it to stop the cooking. Adding butter is optional.
Before using
Cover with plastic wrap directly onto the cream. First let cool to room temperature then place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Always re-whip before using cream. The cream can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Notes
See all tips and ingredient information in the article.