Pastry Cream
By: Emily
Published: Friday, December 4, 2009 - 11:23pm

Ingredients




1 pint whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean OR ½ tsp vanilla
1 ounce cornstarch
4 ounces granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 ounces unsalted butter

Preparation

1 Place the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. 2 If using the vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the pod halves to the milk. 3 Bring to a boil. 4 Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Gradually add the eggs and mix until smooth. 5 Temper a little milk into the eggs, and then add them to the rest of the milk. 6 Whisk until thickened, remove from heat.

About


Similar to custard.
Pastry cream can be used to fill eclairs, cream puffs, pies, and tarts, among other things.
Can be mixed with whipped cream to lighten the texture.