Pastry Cream, Lenotre's recipe

In preparation of choux in the near future… Pastry cream, from Lenotre. The use of Nielssen-Massey Vanilla paste transformed the cream from acceptable to unforgettable. The only change I made is an additional step from Pierre Herme’s recipe which adds the butter when the hot cream has cooled to 60C.

One of these days I’ll add the butter immediately and compare the differences.

Also, from Franscisco Migoya’s blog: a simpler technique to make pastry cream. It makes a minimum of 1 liter though, so I will have to wait for an appropriate occasion. Apparently only pastry cream made with regular flour can be frozen, and only firmer pastry creams will work. There is talk of a ‘floury taste’ so I won’t leap in just yet. Any expertise on successfully freezing pastry cream will be much appreciated in the comments

Pastry Cream
Adapted from Lenotre

• milk, 500ml
• vanilla bean, split and scraped, 1/2 OR vanilla extract 1/2t
• large egg yolks, 6
• sugar, 135g
• flour, 2T (16g)
• cornstarch, 2T (18g)
• unsalted butter, softened, 57g

Bring milk and vanilla bean to a simmer.

Meanwhile, mix sugar, flour and cornstarch in bowl. Add yolks and whisk until smooth, lump free and lighter in color.

Slowly pour a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking madly.

Pour egg mixture back into milk.

Cook over medium low heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Take off the heat and allow mixture to cool to 60C. Strain.

If using vanilla extract, stir it in now. Stir in the butter.

Press plastic on top of cream to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate until thoroughly cold.

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