Basic Pastry Cream

Pastry cream is also known as Custard cream or creme patisserie, in French.   I use this cream in fillings for birthday cakes, for creamy desserts or for making ice creams. Usually the cream is made with a lot of egg yolks and if you have no problem with that you can use the amount of eggs mentioned in the recipe. Personally I only use two eggs and use the egg whites as well.

If you want to make a dark cream, you can either use either chocolate which you will add in the cream as soon as it sets and keep mixing until it melts or add 2 – 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Basic Pastry Cream

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: about 10 minutes

Yields: 1 1/2 litres cream

Ingredients

• 6 cups of fresh milk

• 6 tablespoons of flour and corn flour (you can adjust the dose according to your taste using following combinations :

-  3 tablespoons flour -3 tablespoons corn flour (cornstarch) or

-  4 tablespoons of flour -2 tablespoons of corn flour , or

-  5 tablespoons of flour - 1 tablespoon of corn flour or the opposite or

- 6 tablespoons of corn flour (cornstarch)

• 8 tablespoons of sugar

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

• 6 egg yolks (I use 2 - 3)
  

• 1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
  

Directions:

Heat milk keeping a few tablespoons cold milk to add to mixture.  Separate egg yolks.

In another sauce pan add the flour and corn flour (starch) mixture, the egg yolks (or whole eggs), sugar, vanilla and the cold milk and stir well with an egg beater.

Tags: Custard, How to.., Pastry cream, patisserie, Tips-cooking