Vanilla Pastry Cream

Name: Vanilla Pastry Cream
Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients: 2 cups milk; 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped (or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract; omit step 1 if using); 4 large egg yolks; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 cup cornstarch

January 24, 2012

Pastry cream is the classic filling for French fruit tarts; it can also be folded into other fillings, such as whipped cream or the rich ricotta custard in the Neapolitan Easter Pie on page 253. Like many other custards, it is thickened with eggs and cornstarch; the mixture must be brought to a full boil to activate the starch and set properly. We use a whole vanilla bean, but you can substitute vanilla extract in its place.

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