Pastry cream

Pastry cream is the basis for all sorts of sweet snacks, such as cakes, tarts, cream puffs, and many others, or as a basis for making other types of more elaborate creams. For this reason, it is important to know how to make a good solid pastry cream and thereby start out on the right foot when making many other really delicious desserts that will successfully delight both your children and adult guests. Also, it’s always important, when undertaking creative cookery, that you start with the basics. To get a perfect pastry cream, both in taste and in creaminess, follow in detail all the steps outlined by our chef in this very simple recipe - but it must be done exactly as described, otherwise you run the risk of making a lumpy cream, or burning it. The photos will put your mind at ease and help you avoid any mistakes. So, let’s see how you make this delicious pastry cream ...

Cut along the length of the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the pod and the seeds and heat until the milk starts to tremble. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar until the mixture whitens slightly. Mix in the cornflour. Remove the vanilla pod and strain the milk, then put it back on the heat to warm. Add the milk to the egg and sugar mixture and mix well. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil stirring constantly and making sure you remove any residue from the sides of the pan. Remove the pastry cream from the heat and pour into a bowl. Let it cool for 10 minutes so that it is warm rather than hot. Take the butter and mix it into the pastry cream, stirring gently. Finally let it cool completely. If you’re not going to use it immediately, cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator.