Pastry Cream
4.4
(27)
When adding your hot liquids to the bowl while whisking, it helps to stabilize your bowl by rolling a kitchen towel up into a log, wrapping it into a coil as wide as the bowl's base, then setting the bowl onto it to nest it in place.
This recipe makes twice as much pastry cream as is needed for the Pavlovas . Leftover cream can be used to make èclairs, cream puffs, fruit tarts, or breakfast pastries.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch.
Step 2
Transfer remaining 1 3/4 cups milk to heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add pod. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup sugar over, letting sugar sink undisturbed to bottom. Set pan over moderate heat and bring to simmer without stirring.
Step 3
Whisk hot milk mixture, then gradually whisk into egg yolk mixture. Return to saucepan over moderate heat and cook, whisking constantly, until pastry cream simmers and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, discard vanilla pod, and whisk cream until smooth. Transfer to bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Pastry cream can be made ahead and refrigerated, wrapped well with plastic wrap on surface, up to 3 days.)
