Pastry cream is a versatile filling with a sweet taste that can be used in a variety of desserts. This cream is used in many French pastries such as cakes, cream puffs, éclairs, as well as classic Italian cannoli. Making your own cream pastry is not complicated, without the right technique the cream can go wrong quickly. Follow these steps to make a delicious cream pastry.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Flavorings such as espresso, cinnamon, or nutmeg (optional)
Step
Method 1 of 3: Creating the Base
Step 1. Heat the milk or cream
Put the milk or cream in a small saucepan and place it on the stove. Turn on the stove over medium heat and warm the milk or cream. Don't let it boil; just until you see steam rising from the pan.
Step 2. Mix eggs, sugar, flour and salt
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks until well combined. Beat the sugar, flour and salt until fully combined with the egg yolks.
Step 3. Add warm milk to the egg mixture
Slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture with one hand, while the other hand continues to stir. Once you've finished pouring the milk, transfer the mixture back to the small saucepan and place it on the stove.
- This process hardens the eggs and prevents them from overcooking due to the warm milk.
- If you can't use one hand to pour and the other to beat, you can pour the milk first.
Method 2 of 3: Cooking and Cooling Cream Pastry
Step 1. Heat the cream over medium heat
As the pastry cream slowly heats up, continue to stir to remove lumps and prevent them from burning or sticking to the pan.
Step 2. Look at the consistency of the cream
When whipped, the pastry cream will begin to thicken. The texture is like heavy cream, then it becomes like custard. When this happens, remove the pastry cream from the heat and add the vanilla.
- Continue whisking until you can see the marks of pulling when you pull the whisk from the cream.
- Another way to tell if the cream is done cooking is to stop stirring for a while and watch for bubbles to appear. If you see some large bubbles rising to the surface and bursting, it's time to remove the cream from the stove.
Step 3. Strain the cream
Once the cream is removed from the heat and the vanilla is added, place the strainer over a large bowl and pour the cream from the pan through the strainer. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to help push the cream through the sieve into the bowl.
Step 4. Cool the cream
Cover the pastry cream bowl and put it in the fridge to cool. The cream is ready to use when it has cooled completely.
To keep the skin from forming on top of the cream, place the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream
Method 3 of 3: Using Pastry Cream
Step 1. Make cream puffs
This delicious dish, also known as profiteroles, consists of lightly toasted dough and is filled with lots of pastry cream. The puffs are then stacked and drizzled with rich chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, or powdered sugar.
- Make a cinnamon cream pastry and sprinkle the cream puffs with caramel sauce for a unique treat.
- For a birthday, you can design a cream puff on a pyramid and pour chocolate sauce over it so it drips down.
Step 2. Make the éclair
clair is made of choux dough that is shaped into small (or large) bars, filled with pastry cream, and spread with a layer of chocolate. This popular dish from France is widely sold in bakeries around the world.
Step 3. Make the cannoli
Cannoli is a typical Italian dish. The rich dough is rolled into a hollow stick and then deep-fried, then filled with pastry cream with cinnamon. This cream is often mixed with a little pistachio or mini chocolate chips for added texture.
