Pastry Cream

2019, Dec 02
Ingredients Quantity
Milk 2 Cups
Egg Yolk 4 Large
Sugar 5 Tablespoons
Cornstarch 6.5 Tablespoons
Vanilla or other flavouring 1 Teaspoon

Instructions

  • Gently heat milk over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes until it just begins to simmer or scalds.
  • In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla until very well incorporated.
  • Slowly whisk small amounts of the scalded milk into the egg yolk mixture to temper. Tempering means to slowly mix a hot ingredient into a cold or room-temp ingredient (like the egg yolks) to slowly raise the temperature of the cold or room-temp ingredient whilepreventing it from overcooking (scrambling in the case of the egg yolks).
  • Once half of the milk is incorporated into the bowl, pour the mixture back into the saucepot and whisk over medium heat until it becomes thick and creamy. *Do not let the pastry cream get any color while cooking.*
  • Pour the pastry cream into a plastic-wrap-lined baking pan or wide bowl, lay another sheet of plastic over directly touching the pastry cream, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. *Covering the pastry cream will keep it from developing a thick skin on top. *
  • Allow the pastry cream to cool completely before use.