World Cuisine Recipe ⇝ Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

The key to a great pastry cream is using the minimum of starch. You need enough so the cream holds a shape, but not so much it interferes with the flavor. This version uses cornstarch; just be careful not to keep cooking it once it has thickened. This is perfect in Napoleons, pies, tarts, or cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 large whole egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Cooking Directions

1. Place whole egg and 2 egg yolks into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, corn starch, and salt. Whisk together completely until mixture turns from yellow to a very page creamy color and is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Place milk in a saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape the cut side with a paring knife to extract the seeds (paste). Add the seeds to the milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until milk just barely starts to simmer and a few small bubbles appear on the surface. Remove from heat. Whisk hot milk into egg mixture, starting with a small splash then incorporating the rest. Pour mixture back into saucepan.
3. Place pan over medium-low heat and continue to whisk until mixture begin to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool 5 minutes. Add chunks of butter and whisk until butter melts into the warm milk mixture. Pass mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove and chunks of cooked egg or vanilla seeds. Cover surface with plastic to keep it from discoloring; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled 2 to 3 hours.

Nutrition Facts

• calories120.1
• carbohydrateContent13.9 g
• cholesterolContent63.9 mg
• fatContent6.3 g
• proteinContent2.3 g
• saturatedFatContent3.6 g
• sodiumContent210.9 mg
• sugarContent11.4 g