Name: Vanilla Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)
Ingredients: 2 ½ tablespoons (1 oz./25 g) cornstarch; ¾ cup (5 ¼ oz./150 g) granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (15 g) cake flour; 3 egg yolks; Scant ¼ cup (50 ml) whipping cream; 1 ¾ cups (450 ml) whole milk; 2 vanilla beans

This is one of the most frequently used creams in pastry making. It’s perfect as a bed in tarts in which fruits can nestle.

Ingredients

2 vanilla beans
1 ¾ cups (450 ml) whole milk
Scant

Method

Slit the vanilla beans lengthways and scrape out the seeds into the milk and cream to be boiled. Whisk together the egg yolks, starch, flour, and sugar until pale and thick.

Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a saucepan. Mix in a little of the hot liquid with the egg combined with the dry ingredients. When it is thoroughly blended, pour it ba