Pastry Cream

Since pastry cream is a typical filling for pâte à choux, I’ll give the recipe here and refer to it in the other recipes that call for it. Easy to prepare, pastry cream is a versatile filling—in the recipes that follow you’ll see it paired with butter, whipped cream, and all sorts of different flavors.

Because pastry cream must be cold when used, it lends itself well to advance preparation, though it should not be prepared sooner than the day before it is to be used.