The pastry cream is undoubtedly the queen of pastries!
Today I propose my recipe for a delicious pastry cream to use to fill many desserts. It is a preparation that, like all pastry bases, is made with a few inexpensive ingredients: milk/cream, eggs, sugar, starches and flavors. I will explain how to prepare one of the best creams that exist and my version includes what is easily found at home.
With this delight, we can fill the cake between layers of sponge cake, pie, pastries and it is also fabulous to eat by the spoon.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 9 tbsps sugar
- 5 tbsps cornstarch
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla flavor
- 3.5 tbsps butter
Tools
The pastry cream can be cooked in various ways: in a pot, with the Thermomix, or in the microwave.
For convenience, I use the Thermomix, but often for a small amount like half a liter, it’s more convenient to cook in a pot on the stovetop.
- 1 Pot
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Electric whisk
Cooking
First, weigh all the ingredients.
Put the milk in a large pot and place the pan on the heat.
Also add the vanilla and if you like, also pieces of lemon peel.
While the milk is on the heat, take another bowl and put the egg yolks with the sugar inside and beat them vigorously, adding a ladle of slightly warm milk.
At this point, also add the cornstarch to the mixture (you can also use flour, but the cream will have a different consistency).
When the milk boils, remove the lemon peel and pour this mixture quickly into the milk and stir vigorously, lowering the heat.
Stir for a few minutes with the hand whisk, turn off the heat under the pot and pour into a low and wide baking tray (so it cools faster).
Cover the cream with cling film in contact to prevent it from forming a crust and let it cool. If possible, place ice around the baking tray to cool it faster and lower the bacterial load.
This is the method to make cream in a pot, if you make more than a liter.
If you make less than a liter, you can throw in all the ingredients at once and let them thicken on the heat. Then proceed with the same steps.
Once cold, the pastry cream obtained will have a consistency similar to a pudding.
But to use it to fill cakes and tarts, it needs to be mixed to become soft, smooth, and shiny. This operation can be done by hand, but in reality, you will get a better result with a stand mixer or an electric mixer.
Insert it into the bowl of the stand mixer or a bowl and mix it at medium-high speed for 5 minutes or more until it is soft and shiny.
After doing this operation, to obtain a perfect pastry cream, it is good to lighten it with whipped cream (about 300 g per liter of cream, but it’s a personal taste) or whip it again with the whisks adding room temperature butter in small pieces.
At this point, it is also possible to make different flavors by adding the specific pastes (pistachio paste, hazelnut paste, etc.)
Storage, advice, etc.
The pastry cream is a fresh product that must be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within 2 or 3 days.
If you use it to fill a cake, prepare it the day before assembling and serving the cake.
