How to make perfect microwave custard cream.
The custard cream is the base for many desserts and it’s crucial to know how to make it!
With a few ingredients, you can create true magic for your palate, and over the years, the best pastry chefs and chefs have changed the way of cooking it and even some of the ingredients.
For example, flour was previously used as a thickener, but if it wasn’t cooked properly, you could taste it, so today, starches are used that give more structure and are not noticeable (unless the cream needs to be baked in the oven for some desserts like grandma’s cake).
Another thing that is no longer done is cooking in a double boiler; I remember when I was young, you had to spend a lot of time by the stove stirring the cream in the pot placed on a double boiler to not let it stick to the bottom .. and you would waste time!!
So, chefs and technology have come to our rescue, and with the advent of the microwave, for example, cooking custard cream takes just a few minutes! All you need is a bowl and a whisk!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Low
- Preparation time: 3 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Microwave
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
I use whole eggs
- 2 cups milk
- cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ tbsps rice starch
- 2 ½ tbsps cornstarch
- to taste lemon zest
- to taste vanilla (in pulp or extract)
Steps
I use whole eggs to avoid excess egg whites.
– Mix the lemon zest and vanilla into the sugar.
– Beat the eggs with the sugar using a hand whisk; add a bit of milk and then add the starches.
– Mix the starches well into the egg and sugar mixture, then add the remaining milk.
– Put the bowl in the microwave, set the timer for 2 minutes, and cook at maximum power (mine goes up to 800W). Take it out of the oven, stir quickly, and repeat for another 2 minutes.
– Check the consistency of the cream while stirring, and if necessary, cook for another minute.
– As soon as the cream is ready, transfer it to a clean container (to speed up the cooling process, while the cream is cooking or even half an hour before, put the clean container/tray in the freezer; this way, the cream cools faster), cover with cling film in contact, and place immediately in the fridge or blast chiller.
Notes:
Regarding the use of starches, here are some brief notes:
Cornstarch gives structure to the cream, while rice starch makes it creamy. Using only cornstarch results in a certain “firmness,” while only rice starch makes it softer. Therefore, it’s advisable to use them in equal amounts, instead of flour.
If, for example, our recipe calls for 70 g of flour, we will use 35 g of cornstarch and 35 g of rice starch.
Another thing to know is about vanilla; besides the fact that you should use vanilla and not vanillin, if you opt for the bean, know that the seeds should be put into the sugar and not into the milk, so they will be much more noticeable.
The last ingredient is cream. This should be used either at 50% with milk, so for 1 liter of milk, we will use 500 ml of milk and 500 ml of cream; or at 20%, so 800 ml of milk and 200 ml of cream.
Finally, the use of eggs: using them whole, the final structure is only slightly more fluid compared to just yolks, but we don’t have excess egg whites, and even the master Massari uses this method in some recipes. It’s my choice… do as you see fit.
Finally, the use of eggs: using them whole, the final structure is only slightly more fluid compared to just yolks, but we don’t have excess egg whites, and even the master Massari uses this method in some recipes. It’s my choice… do as you see fit.
