two glasses of whole milk (480 milliliters)
Half a cup, or 100 grams, of granulated sugar, divide it in half.
one vanilla bean, or one teaspoon of vanilla essence
Egg yolks, five large ones
1/3 cup or 30 grams of cornstarch
Unsalted butter, cut finely, two teaspoons (30 grams)
How to Make the Perfect Pastry Cream
The New York Times Cookbook: How to Make the Best Pastry Cream Ever
Guidelines
Prepare the milk mixture.
In a medium saucepan, mix the whole milk with half of the granulated sugar, which is 1/4 cup.
seeds of the vanilla bean. If you’re using vanilla extract, add it last.
Simmer the mixture gently when the pot is heated to medium. Toss every so often to
dissolve the sugar completely.
Make sure the egg mixture is ready.
Beat the egg yolks with a quarter cup of the remaining granulated sugar and the
cornstarch until a pale, creamy consistency is achieved. Just a couple of minutes, tops.
Carefully Warm the Eggs:
Whisk constantly as you slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, adding about a third of it at a time.
gently cook the eggs. In this step, the temperature of the eggs is raised gradually to prevent them from curdling.
Put back into the saucepan the tempered egg mixture together with the leftover heated milk, and keep cooking until
Keep stirring the ingredients.
Warm up the pastry cream.
Whip the mixture constantly over medium heat until it thickens, then return it to the saucepan.
start to burst. Just a couple of minutes, tops. Add a minute or two to the cooking time once it starts to boil.
minutes to make sure the cornstarch is fully cooked.
Immediately after removing the saucepan from the heat, mix in the butter and, if using, vanilla essence.
forgot to include the vanilla bean.
Calm and Stress:
continued on next page
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