Rounding up for this month, I will like to share a very simple yet classic pastry cream recipe. Making Pastry cream is one of the basic recipes any dessert maker learns ‘cos it is used as fillings in so many of our desserts.
Vanilla Pastry Cream is also referred to as Vanilla Custard or Cremé Patisserie. It is a delicious, rich, and creamy custard thickened with starch and eggs. It is also the basic for other pastry cream like Cremé Anglaise, Cremé Chantilly, Cremé Diplomat, Cremé Legere, and Cremé Bavoris.
If you have seen the FILLED DOUGHNUT RECIPE I shared last week, you will discover one of the fillings for the doughnuts was this Vanilla Pastry Cream. Like I always say, ALL my recipes are very simple to make and you can always get the items at stalls/malls near you. You also do not need any special baking or dessert skills to make them!
See step by step video of how to make VANILLA PASTRY CREAM
To make:
- In a mixing bowl, add your egg yolks and sugar and whisk it till it’s frothy. In other words, when you lift up your whisk, the mixture dropping into your bowl should be able to make a ribbon kind of shape. Or in a lay man’s word it should be slightly thick.
- Next add corn flour /corn starch, add salt, and whisk well to combine. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Place a sauce pan or pot on low heat, pour in your milk. Allow milk simmer. NOT BOIL.
- Once milk is ready, pour half of the milk into the egg yolk mixture and simultaneously whisk it vigorously while pouring the milk. This is to temper the egg and prevent it from cooking.
- Now pour the egg yolk mixture back into the remaining half milk in the pot. And return the pot to your heat.
- Whisk vigorously while cooking on low heat till cream thickens. This takes 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl.
- While it is still hot, add your vanilla extract and unsalted butter, and whisk till butter melts.
- Pour cream immediately into a freezable bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Next cover the pasty cream with a plastic wrap or cling film. Make sure the plastic wrap/cling film is touching the pastry cream. Literally you are using the plastic wrap to cover the pastry cream. This is to prevent skin from forming on the cream. Now cover the bowl with its lid.
- Place bowl in a fridge for the cream to cool completely before using. The more it cools the thicker it gets. And viola your classic simple healthy pastry cream is ready!
Tips and Troubleshooting:
- Pastry Cream cannot be frozen because the starch used in the recipe will break down and the cream will begin to thaw, making the cream whip and too runny.
- It can only stay refrigerated for 3 days.
- If there are lumps in your pastry cream, you didn’t whisk well while cooking or tampering the egg mixture. Sieve the cream to remove the lumps.
#pastrycream #cremepatisserie #vanillacustard
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I will also LOVE to see your creations!