Hello, friends, and happy Monday to you all! I hope you had a great weekend and have managed to get some proper rest!
I have wanted to prepare a classic pastry cream for a while in order to make a Diplomat cream with it and then a delicious biscuit cake.
So I find it funny that this week is also my first attempt to participate in the Hive Top Chef competition and the theme is "Egg Yolk"!
As you know the main ingredient in "Creme Patissiere" AKA Classic Pastry Cream is egg yolks.
It is thought to have originated somewhere in Italy or France around the 17th century. The earliest recorded mention of "Creme Patissiere" is in a French cookbook called "The Royal and Bourgeois Cook" by François Massialot - a French chef.
At its core, the pastry cream is a combo of eggs, milk, and starch. Of course, there are other ingredients in it but you can call them variations depending on the recipe you are using and the cook you are asking. :D
It is known as the classic pastry cream and it is being used by bakeries and chefs for all different kinds of pastries. You may know it from a variety of desserts such as a filling in eclairs, cream puffs, fruit tarts and etc.
In my family, 3 generations of women prepare pastry cream in 3 different ways.
Yes, I very vividly remember the taste of my mom's variation and no, I can not argue with her aunt when she says that her recipe is the original one.
Today I will share with you my recipe for "Creme Patissiere"!
INGREDIENTS:
- 450 ml milk (lactose-free)
- 50 ml mascarpone (lactose-free)
- 25 gr cornstarch
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 9 tbsp sugar (white)
- salt (pinch)
- vanilla extract
So, first start with the milk. In my case I have used lactose-free vecause I am lactose intolerant and I don't do well with huge amount of lactose. Of course, you can use regular milk - depending on your preferences.
Pour it in a saucepan with the vanilla extract and place the pan onto the stove. Turn it on to a medium temperature and leave to heat up. Stir from time to time to prevent burning.
While the milk is heating up, take a big bowl and place inside the sugar, conrstarch, egg yolks, the egg and a pinch of salt. Mix good together with a hand mixer until you get a homogenous mixture.
At this point, the milk is probably heated up and beginning to bubble. Start adding hald of that milk to the egg mixture while using a ladle and try going for a thin stream.
Don't stop wisking while adding the milk because this way you are tempering the mixture.
When you are done with the tempering process, you can add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk in the saucepan.
Keep it on a medium temperature and keep on wisking. This is really important since at this part you are working for the consistency of your cream while being careful not to burn it.
Whisk until it thickens and then remove it from the stove.
Use the spot to melt your butter using a metal jug or something like his. Keep the temperature medium because you want to just melt that butter. Be very careful for it not to start boiling because this will change the consistency of the cream.
When the butter is melted, turn off the stove and place back the saucepan with the cream on it. Start pouring the butter into the cream while whisking vigorously until you incorporate all of the butter into the mixture.
Et voila! Your pastry cream is ready and you are one step close to the world of professional cooking!
It is recommended to leave the cream overnight to rest in the fridge.
You should place a layer of aluminum foil or plastic wrap and then put the cream in the fridge for around 8 to 10 hours.
You can use it as a filling for different desserts or serve it on its own with some kind of topping. I decided to go for dried red cranberries because I like the combination of flavors!
You can watch a time-lapse of my recipe here:
I hope you have enjoyed the recipe and please let me know if you decide to prepare it at home! Or if you have any suggestions on how to make it better!
Stay tasty,
Chef Kate