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Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

Source of Recipe

From "Basic to Brilliant, Y'all" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"Crème Pâtissière may sound fancy, but this is essentially vanilla pudding. I have always been more of a chocolate kind of girl, but Mama loves vanilla. She's had quarts of Mexican vanilla extract in her baking pantry for as long as I can remember. This can be served as pudding, as the base for a tart, or layered between crepes or even the dacquoise. This recipe may seem excessively old school, so stuffy French. Many hot-shot chefs would scoff — there's no foam or espuma in sight. You know what? Taste it. It's delicious. Sometimes old-school is the way to go — and Mama is usually right."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups whole milk
â—¦ 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 6 large egg yolks
â—¦ ½ cup sugar
â—¦ â…“ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ Pinch of fine sea salt


Recipe

Bring the milk almost to a boil in a saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds and bean. Cover and leave in a warm place to infuse the vanilla flavor, about 15 minutes. Remove the bean, wash it to use again, and reheat the milk to boiling.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and the sugar with a wooden spoon, until thick and light. Stir in the flour and the pinch of salt to make a smooth paste. (Add the vanilla extract, if using.) Whisk the scalded milk into the egg mixture, blending well, then return the mixture to the pan. Place over low heat and whisk until boiling. (Make sure the cream is perfectly smooth before letting it come to a boil!) Cook the cream, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.

Strain the cream into a bowl. To use immediately, cool over an ice bath, stirring often, until cooled completely. If refrigerating for later use, to prevent a skin from forming, press a piece of buttered plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate until cool, several hours or overnight. Store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.


Makes 2½ cups