Vanilla Pastry Cream

• Vegetarian
• Gluten free

• Refrigerated

  • 2 Egg yolks

• Condiments

  • 20 g Cornstarch or (custard powder

• Baking & Spices

  • 50 g Granulated sugar
  • 1/4 Vanilla bean

• Dairy

  • 180 ml Milk
  • 60 ml Whipping cream

Found on thetoughcookie.com

Description

Ingredients

• 180ml (or ¾ cup) milk
• 60ml (or ¼ cup) whipping cream
• 40g (or 3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• ¼ of a vanilla bean
• 20g (or 7½ teaspoons) cornstarch or (custard powder)
• 2 egg yolks
• 10g (or 2½ teaspoons) granulated sugar

Directions

• Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. In a small saucepan, combine the scraped vanilla bean and the vanilla seeds with the milk, cream and 40 grams of sugar.
• Place the cornstarch or custard powder in a small bowl. Add a splash of the milk mixture to it and stir to a paste. This prevents lumps. Add a splash more of the milk and stir smooth. Add the yolks and the 10 grams of sugar and whisk together. In the meantime, gently heat the milk mixture to a simmer.
• Once the mixture is simmering, fish out the vanilla bean and discard. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking the egg mixture continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat over low to medium-high heat while whisking continuously until the mixture thickens and bubbles are starting to appear. You now have pastry cream!
• Pour the pastry cream through a sieve to make sure there aren’t any lumps or stray bits vanilla bean in it.
• NOTE: At this point, you can serve the pastry cream as a warm dessert. If you plan to either serve the pastry cream at room temperature or cold, or use it as a filling for cakes, pies or other pastries, proceed to the next step.
• Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Let it come to room temperature before placing it in the fridge to chill.
• Use the pastry cream as a silky smooth filling for all kinds of pastries or serve it at room temperature in a cute little bowl all on its own or with a little dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries to fancy it up a bit.