How to make Pastry Cream

This is a basic pastry cream that you can use for various sweets such as tarts, cream puffs, eclairs, etc.

Once you’ve mastered the basic pastry cream, you can infuse it with other ingredients like vanilla bean, lavender, green tea and so on. I’ve tried several different pasty cream recipes, but I personally think this one is the best so far.

INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENTS

Ingredients for Pastry Cream – Makes about 2 cups

1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar (divided use)
2 cups whole milk (divided use)
4 large egg yolks
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

HOW TO MAKE

Making the Egg Mixture

1. Combine the cornstarch with the sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Lightly beat 4 egg yolks. (Vanilla extract is in the picture, but you don’t need it yet,
my bad…=])

3. Pour 1/2 cup of the milk and stir well with a whisk.
4. Blend the lightly beaten yolks into the cornstarch and sugar mixture.
5. Stir with a wooden spoon until it is completely smooth.

Making the Milk Mixture

6. In a stainless steel sauce pan or pot, combine the remaining 1 ½ cups milk and a pinch salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil) and remove the pan from the heat.

Tempering

7. To temper, you can gradually add about one-third of the milk mixture at the time, but I like to drizzle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture little by litte while I’m whisking, just in case. Don’t forget to whisk constantly!

Cooking the Pastry Cream

8. Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking over low-medium heat, vigorously stir with a whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream. (It is hard to see a trail in the photo, but that’s the consistency that you want to have.) It will take a little while to come to a boil – about 5 minutes

9. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as you reach that consistency (if you leave on a stove too long, it won’t be soft and creamy pasty cream), and add the vanilla extract and the butter. Stir well until they are well blended.
10. Prepare an ice bath (water + ice), and transfer the pan to the ice bath. Cover the pastry cream surface with plastic wrap and stir occasionally, until the pastry cream is cool – about 15 minutes.

Store up to 3~4 days in a refrigerator

ALEXA’S TIPS

1. Do not cook the pastry cream on high heat. You will end up with a lot of crumbs in your pastry
cream. To get smooth pastry cream, be patient and cook it on low to medium heat. It will take its sweet time, but it is the only way to get a smooth pastry cream. =]
2. I also like the pasty cream with vanilla bean. I will make that one another day.