Pastry Cream Master Recipe

My favorite use for pastry cream is as the filling for a cream pie. It can also be used in a wide variety of ways, including filling cakes and other pastries (such as eclairs). Basic pastry cream is traditionally flavored with vanilla and is incredibly delicious as is. Layer it in a pie crust with fresh sliced bananas and you have an incredible banana cream pie. Swap out the dairy milk for coconut milk and you have a creamy filling for coconut cream pie.