Pastry cream (crème pâtissèrie)

Source: Serious Eats

Frequently paired with: choux pastry

Ingredients

• 2 C (455 g) whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean OR vanilla extract
• 4 oz (1/2 C, 115 g) granulated sugar
• 1 oz (3 Tbs) cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt OR 1/8 tsp fine salt
• 4 yolks, large (2 1/2 oz, 70 g)
• 1 oz (2 Tbs, 30g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” cubes

Directions

1. If using vanilla bean: In a medium saucepan, combine milk with scraped vanilla bean and its seeds. Bring to bear simmer over medium heat, remove from heat, cover to prevent evaporation. Allow vanilla to steep for 30 minutes. (You can skip this step entirely if using vanilla extract.)
2. Also optional but dead useful: Set up a larger bowl with an ice water bath to cool mixture quickly.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks. Whisk until pale, smooth, and fluffy, about a minute.
4. Stirring constantly, slowly add in the milk. When incorporated, return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat. Whisk constantly until cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Keep stirring and check for bubbles (about 1 minute). When it bubbles, set a timer and whisk for 1 minute. *This step is important to neutralize a starch-dissolving protein in egg yolks.
5. Off heat, whisk in the butter until thoroughly incorporated. Strain pastry cream through a fine mesh set over a bowl (to get out any accidental cooked egg bits). Flavoring note If you are using vanilla extract or some other flavoring (see notes), now is the time to incorporate it.
6. Transfer mixture to your storage bowl and press plastic wrap to the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Place bowl in ice bath for 30 mins to cool before transferring to refrigerator to cool the rest of the way, 2 hrs minimum.
   • To cool a little faster, place bowl in the ice bath (before plastic wrap) and stir constantly. Then cover surface and transfer to refrigerator.
7. When ready to use, stir to combine and transfer to piping bag.

Notes

• 9/24/24 – came out rather thin, more like crème anglaise than a pipe-able pastry cream. Definitely pouring consistency. Probable error I was really worried about scrambling the eggs so I didn’t bring the milk to a full simmer, and then didn’t bring the mixture to a bubbling stage. So it probably never got hot enough, for long enough, to properly denature and/or gelatinize.
• Suggested use: when making Napoleons, I’ve seen a suggestion to whip cream to stiff peaks and fold in this pastry cream to pipe. Might try it if I end up with a runny cream again.
• Flavoring I added 1 1/2 Tbs of Standard Proof pecan rye whiskey at the flavoring stage and it was *really* yummy, no alcohol burn at all.