How to Make Pastry Cream
50K views
Jul 4, 2023
Discover how quick and easy it is to make the best pastry cream. A staple in so many pastries and treats, this pastry cream is perfect for eclairs, cream puffs, Napoleans, Danish, Boston cream pie and so much more!
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0:00
Hi, I'm going to show you how to make the most delicious vanilla pastry cream
0:06
We're going to start by lining a baking sheet with plastic wrap
0:10
This is to put the pastry cream in once it's cooked. Once you lay out a sheet of plastic wrap over the baking sheet, set it aside
0:18
Next, into a saucepan, you're going to put half the sugar with the milk
0:23
Then slice a vanilla bean down the middle and then use the back of the knife to scrape out the vanilla seeds
0:29
from the bean. Place the seeds and the entire vanilla bean into the pot. If you're not using a vanilla
0:36
bean, just wait until the end and you can add some vanilla extract. In a separate heatproof
0:42
mixing bowl, add the rest of the sugar, the flour, and the cornstarch. Whisk them all together
0:48
just to incorporate them. Then add in the egg and the yolk. Whisk all of this together. You want
0:55
to whisk it really well, get it very smooth. While you're vigorously whisking the egg mixture, you should be heating up the milk
1:06
You want it to heat up until it comes to a boil
1:10
While it's heating, give it a few stirs every now and then just to make sure the sugar is dissolving
1:23
You can see here that it's boiling
1:41
If you're using vanilla extract, add it now. Then remove the entire mixture from the heat and carefully whisk in about a third of the milk mixture
1:53
Start whisking the egg mixture before you even pour the milk into the bowl with the egg mixture
1:58
You want to avoid making any scrambled eggs. That's why you need to keep whisking vigorously when adding the hot liquid
2:06
Return the hot pan to the stovetop, but do not turn any heat on
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Whisk in the tempered egg mixture into the rest of the milk mixture
2:16
You can then put the whisk down and scrape the bowl out to make sure you get everything out
2:20
before you turn the heat back on under the pot. Then give it a good whisk just to make sure everything's incorporated
2:41
Turn the heat onto medium high. You're going to need to whisk the entire mixture
2:46
while it cooks. Do not stop whisking. Once it starts to boil set a timer for exactly two minutes Continue whisking and cooking for the full two minutes It is important that it cooks for the full two minutes to activate the enzymes in the cornstarch
3:05
But you also want to be careful not to overcook it because then it just won't taste that good
3:21
Once reached the two minute mark
3:33
and pour it onto the prepared pan right on top of the plastic wrap
3:51
You will see that the mixture is already quite thick. Scrape out the pot and get all the pastry cream onto the plastic wrap
4:05
Then immediately cover the entire pastry cream with plastic wrap. So the plastic wrap is adhering to the surface of the pastry cream
4:14
This is important to prevent a skin from forming on the pastry cream
4:19
You can remove that vanilla bean before or after I just left it in for now because it too hot to handle Once it gets to room temperature you can remove the vanilla bean
4:30
While you can let the pastry cream come to room temperature, you can put it in a metal bowl over an ice bath to cool it faster
4:37
When you're ready to use the pastry cream to incorporate it into whatever recipe you're making
4:42
take it out of the refrigerator and beat it. It's great to do this with an electric mixer
4:47
A hand mixer is great for this. you can also do it by hand. consistency, place it into a pastry bag. Alternatively, place it into a Ziploc bag where you can just
5:25
cut off a corner. Or if you don't want to pipe it, you can certainly just spoon it in. It just is a lot
5:32
easier to pipe than it is to spoon. This pastry cream is amazing in any recipe that calls for
5:44
pastry cream, such as Ecleres, cream puffs, Napoleon's, Boston cream pie. The list is endless. Enjoy
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