Pastry Cream | The most essential pastry recipe you never knew you needed....

Have you ever tried pastry cream? If not, you're in for a treat! Let me tell you why this essential, easy, versatile, and fast dessert is going to become your new favorite recipe essential.

First things first, pastry cream is an absolute game-changer when it comes to creating mouthwatering desserts. Whether you're filling a cake, tart, or even piping it into delicate pastries, this creamy goodness adds a touch of pure indulgence to any sweet creation. (If you love fresh fruit tarts-this is what makes it so yummy…besides the fruit of coarse)

What makes pastry cream truly special and essential for your kitchen is its incredible versatility. You can infuse it with various flavors like vanilla, chocolate, your favorite liquor, or even a hint of citrus. The possibilities are truly endless!

This recipe is foolproof, and has a smooth and silky texture, the rich flavors, and the delicate sweetness will have you coming back for seconds, thirds, and maybe even fourths! Trust me, it's that good- you don’t even need to put it in anything you can lick it off the spoon!

Recipe:

1 pint-16 ounces whole milk

102 grams sugar

2 whole eggs

50 grams cornstarch

1/2 vanilla bean pod, scraped and the entire bean used

Tools Needed:

medium bowl, medium saucepan, whisk, spatula, and paring knife, desired dish to cool pastry cream

Instructions:

Measure the sugar, cornstarch, and the eggs together into the bowl. With the whisk, mix until you have a very smooth and slightly fluffy mixture.

Pour the milk into the sauce pan and add the vanilla pod and beans. Bring milk to a boil.

when the milk has begun to boil pour the entire mixture carefully into the egg mixture. Whisk well and add back into the pot. (don't worry, your eggs will be ok- the cornstarch protects them from getting scrambled!)

Now the fun part, stirring constantly with the whisk, you will see the mixture will begin to thicken and then get really thick like pudding. You will need to keep stirring for at least 60 seconds while boiling to cook out the cornstarch properly.

Once done, using the spatula pour into dish to let cool.

*unless you want to eat it warm right away (still tasty) I would cool it down fully in the refrigerator until completely chilled. When ready to use for tarts, fillings for cakes, you will need to what I call break it down, that is stirring it well to make it smooth and creamy again. This is normal and in the pastry world we all know before using pastry cream, you need to mix it well. I promise it will look smooth and shiny again, it actually gets worse and then it gets better... Once its smooth and shiny again use it for anything!!

Enjoy 😋