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In
a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks
together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will
get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the
egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set
aside.
Meanwhile in a saucepan combine
the milk and split vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. (The milk will
foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and
add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get
a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Remove
vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds to the egg mixture. (The
vanilla bean can be dried and placed in your sugar bowl to give the sugar a
vanilla flavor. This sugar can then be used in baking where you would like a
vanilla-flavored sugar, e.g. pies, cakes, cookies.)
Place the egg mixture back into
a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly.
When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it
becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.
Remove from heat and
immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and
immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming.
Cool. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days.
Beat
before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.
For a light pastry cream,
just before using, fold in the softly whipped cream with a wooden spoon.
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Recipe:
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1/2
vanilla bean, split
lengthwise
3 large
egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams)
granulated white sugar
1/8 cup (20 grams)
all-purpose flour
Scant
3 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch
3/4 tablespoon (10 ml)
liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy, Kirsch)
Makes about 1 cup
For light pastry
cream add:
1/2 cup (115 ml) heavy
cream, softly whipped (optional)
Variations:
Chocolate pastry
cream:
Add: 2 ounces (50
grams) of melted bittersweet or semi-sweet,
milk or white chocolate into
the hot milk (before you add it to the egg and flour mixture)
Coffee pastry cream:
Add: 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon
instant espresso or instant coffee powder into hot milk.
Raspberry pastry
cream:
Add: 1/4 cup (60 ml)
(or to taste)
raspberry puree to pastry cream |
