Name: Pastry Cream
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 cups (605 g/21.3 oz) pastry cream
Ingredients: 2 cups (484 g/17 oz) whole milk; 1/2 cup (100 g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar; 5 large (93 g/3.3 oz) egg yolks; 1/3 cup (40 g/1.4 oz) cornstarch; 1 Tbsp (14 g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Editor's note: Use this pastry cream to make Francois Payard's Soufflé of Puff Pastry with Orange-Scented Pastry Cream, Candied Pecans, and Caramel Butter Sauce .

A classic filling for fruit tarts and éclairs, pastry cream is also used as a component in desserts, from napoleons to panini.

Cooks' Note

Vanilla Pastry Cream: Add a vanilla bean, split lengthwise with a paring knife and seeds scraped, to the milk in step 1. Remove the vanilla bean pod after the pastry cream has cooked.

Rosemary Pastry Cream: Add the finely chopped leaves from 1 sprig fresh rosemary to the milk in step 1 and proceed as directed.

Recipe notes

Dulce de Leche

Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.

Palets Bretons

Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Passion Fruit Curd

Tangy and sunny, this curd can be made with either fresh or frozen pulp.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Fluffier, fresher, and fancier than anything from a tub or can.

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Yes, it's a shortcut in a microwave. It's also a gooey, fudgy, wildly good chocolate cake.

Wampanoaug Clam Fritters

The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.

Béchamel Sauce

This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.