French Pastry Cream Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat 2 cups milk to boiling.
• While milk is heating, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining 1/4 cup milk.
• Whisk in cornstarch and flour until smooth.
• Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in about 1/3 of the heated milk, then whisking in the remaining milk.
• Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and boils.
• Whisk constantly.
• Reduce heat to low and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla or other flavorings.
• Pour into a bowl, press plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and cool to room temperature before chilling for at least 2 hours.

Steps:

• Stir together the milk, salt, vanilla bean and seeds and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sugar has just dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While continually whisking, slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture. Continue to whisk until smooth. (This is called tempering, and it will prevent the yolks from scrambling.) Continue whisking and adding 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture at a time until completely combined and smooth.
• Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and the texture of pudding, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the butter until smooth and glossy. Remove the vanilla bean.
• Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Before serving, whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fluffy.

Steps:

• Make dough by mixing all dough ingredients in a lrg bowl. Do not knead dough too much, but rather allow it to rise for 2-3 hours.
• Make pastry cream by heating the milk in a saucepan together w/the vanilla bean split lengthwise. Remove from heat, cover & allow the vanilla to infuse for 20 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, rum & 2 egg yolks. Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan & bring the milk back to a gentle boil. Gradually pour it over the flour/sugar mixture while whisking vigourously. Return mixture to the saucepan, reheat to a gentle boil (stirring freq), remove from heat & set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
• Roll out 2/3 of the dough to fit the base & sides of a shallow 9-in rd cake pan. Spread the filling over the dough, fold over the dough edges & brush them w/a little beaten egg yolk.
• Roll out the remaining dough to cover the filling completely, glaze w/beaten egg yolk & bake for 45 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly, refrigerate till cold & dust w/powdered sugar prior to serving. Garnish w/red berries as desired.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.
• When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.