Pastry Cream

A CLASSIC pastry cream—the creamy filling used in éclairs and Napoleons, as the base for most dessert soufflés, and as the filling for many fruit tarts—is made by boiling milk, flour, sugar, and egg yolks together until a smooth, thick, and creamy sauce is formed.

One of the most common mistakes in making a pastry cream is to undercook it. People generally stop cooking when the pastry cream first comes to a boil. If you follow the method below and cook and whisk the pastry cream an