Crème Pâtissière Food

HOW TO MAKE PASTRY CREAM (CRèME PâTISSIèRE RECIPE)

Steps:

• In a 2-quart stainless steel saucier, combine milk and scraped vanilla bean along with its seeds. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover to prevent evaporation, and let steep for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, set up an ice bath by partially filling it with a combination of cold water and ice. Set aside.
• In a medium heatproof mixing bowl set on top of a dampened towel (this serves as a stable base), stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in egg yolks until mixture is pale yellow, smooth, and fluffy, about 1 minute.
• Uncover infused milk and remove vanilla bean (see note). While whisking continuously, slowly pour milk into egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, until all of it has been added.
• Return the mixture to the same saucier. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until pastry cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Once it thickens, continue to whisk, pausing every few seconds to check for bubbles, about 1 minute. When it begins to bubble, set a timer and continue whisking for 1 minute. This step is important to neutralize a starch-dissolving protein found in egg yolks.
• Off-heat, whisk in butter until melted and thoroughly combined. Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof medium bowl. Immediately place plastic wrap or buttered parchment paper directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer bowl to prepared ice bath to chill for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• When ready to use the pastry cream, whisk until smooth.

CREME PATISSIERE (PASTRY CREAM)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Set out a large bowl, a medium saucepan, a whisk or heavy spoon, and a sieve or strainer.
• In the medium-sized saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla bean over medium heat almost to boiling.
• While the milk is heating, mix the egg yolks and sugar together in the large bowl.
• Then whisk in the flour and cornstarch until the mixture is smooth.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the milk.
• Then, gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Do this very slowly as you don't want the yolks to cook from the heat of the milk.
• Strain the mixture back into the saucepan.
• Place over medium heat, stirring or constantly whisking until the mixture thickens and reaches a boil. Continue cooking for half a minute longer, stirring hard and constantly to keep the pastry cream smooth.
• Remove the pastry cream from the heat. Stir in the vanilla flavoring at this point if you did not use a vanilla bean. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to avoid a skin forming, and leave to cool to room temperature.
• The pastry cream can be used when cool, or covered and refrigerated for up to several days until needed. Stir chilled pastry cream before using.

CRèME PâTISSIèRE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix together the yolks and cream. If you're using a vanilla bean, split it and scrape out the seeds; stir them into the cream mixture.
• Stir the cream-egg mixture into the sugar-cornstarch mixture over medium heat; at first, whisk occasionally to eliminate lumps. Then stir almost constantly until the mixture boils and thickens, about 10 minutes. Continue to cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon; when you draw your finger through this coating, the resulting line will hold its shape.
• Stir in the butter (and vanilla extract if you're using it) and set aside. Cool the pastry cream for a few minutes, then proceed with your recipe or refrigerate, with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

CREME PATISSIERE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a small bowl. Add flour, and mix until smooth and free of lumps.
• Thin egg-yolk mixture with approximately 1/4 cup of warm milk. When remaining milk begins to boil, add it to egg-yolk mixture, and stir well. Return to saucepan, and place over high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until pastry cream thickens and boils, about 1 minute. (Turning the pan as you whisk helps to easily reach all areas of pan.)
• Reduce heat to medium, and cook, whisking constantly, until cream becomes shiny and easier to stir, about 2 minutes more. Pour into a bowl, and stir in vanilla. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming, and allow to cool.