Crème pâtissière – or pastry cream – has many roles in pâtisserie, including fillings for choux buns and sweet tarts, and my Chiboust cream.
6 egg yolks
125g (scant ⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
40g (heaped ¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
500ml (2 cups) milk
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
a little icing (confectioners’) sugar or butter
Combine the egg yolks and one-third of the sugar in a bowl and whisk to a light ribbon consistency. Add the flour and whisk it in thoroughly.
In a saucepan, heat the milk with the rest of the sugar and the vanilla pod. As soon as it comes to the boil, pour it on to the egg yolk mixture, stirring as you go. Mix well, then return the mixture to the saucepan.
Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring continuously with the whisk. Allow the mixture to bubble, still stirring, for 2 minutes, then tip it into a bowl.
To prevent a skin forming, dust the surface with a veil of icing sugar or dot all over with little flakes of butter. Once cold, the pastry cream can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove the vanilla pod before using.
For a lighter textured crème pâtissiere, I fold in 20– 50% whipped cream (ie 150– 300ml/scant ⅔–1¼ cups). Or for a rich velvety texture, I incorporate 10% whipped softened butter (ie 75g/5 tbsp).