Pastry cream recipe

July 8, 11:25 AMLA Baking ExaminerHilary Cable

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Pastry cream is the classic filling for Napoleons and tarts./Wikimedia Commons

Pastry cream is a classic filling for tarts, Napoleons and éclairs, and is made from milk or cream, eggs and vanilla. This version is flavored with vanilla bean. 

This pastry cream recipe is from “The Pie and Pastry Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. ISBN: 0684813483

Ingredients: 

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. corn starch

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 cup sugar

Vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

Method: 

Whisk the eggs and cornstarch in a small bowl. 

Gradually add ¼ cup of the half-and-half to the egg mixture until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch is dissolved. 

Place the sugar and vanilla bean in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. 

Stir in the remaining 1 ¾ cups half-and-half and the salt. 

Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. 

Whisk 2 tbsp. of the hot half-and-half mixture into the egg mixture. 

Add the tempered egg mixture to the hot half-and-half mixture and whisk rapidly for 20-30 seconds. 

Remove the half-and-half mixture from the heat.

Remove the vanilla bean. 

Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated. 

Immediately pour the pastry cream into a heat-proof bowl and lay a piece of buttered plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. 

Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until cold. 

Cook’s notes: 

• Vanilla beans are expensive. Beranbaum says in her pastry cream recipe that the vanilla bean can be washed, dried and reused. An alternative to using and washing vanilla beans is to whisk in a teaspoon of a good-quality vanilla extract when you add the butter at the end. 
• You may be tempted to skip the tempering process (adding a little hot material to the eggs before adding the eggs to the hot material), but don’t. You run the risk of making sweet scrambled eggs out of your expensive ingredients. 
• Use a 3/8-inch thick layer of pastry cream to anchor fresh fruit in tarts. 
• When using pastry cream in crusts, moisture-proof the bottom of the crust. Brush a thin layer of chocolate or fruit jam or jelly over the bottom of the crust. The flavors should be compatible.  
• Use pastry cream in this recipe for fresh berry tart. 

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