pasty cream. flour bakery style.

part 1 to making brioche au chocolate.  pastry cream.  knowing how to make a good pastry cream is important since it is the foundation for so many desserts.  

all finished! ( please excuse the bad lighting )

bubbly milk.

sugar + flour + corn startch + salt + egg yolks = a pasty mess

above + milk = liquid-y goodness 

just waiting for it to thicken.

i had no idea that pastry cream could be strained....

pastry cream.

adapted from joanne chang's flour: spectacular recipes from boston's flour bakery + cafe. 

** yields 3 cups of pasty cream

what you'll need:

• small sauce pan
• small bowl
• whisk

ingredients:

• 1/4 cup milk ( i used whole milk )
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cake flour ( i used 1/4 cup - 1/2 tbsp flour + 1/2 tbsp cornstarch )
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

directions:

1. in a medium saucepan, scald the milk over medium heat.  (bubbles should form on the outer edges of the milk, but do not let it boil.)
2. in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, corn starch, and salt.
3. in a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks. stir in the flour mixture.  the mixture will be thick.
4. remove the milk from the heat and very slowly add the egg mixture to the milk, whisking constantly. to avoid cooking the eggs, drizzle the egg mixture in very slowly and stir constantly.
5. turn the heat to medium and whisk the mixture constantly. as it cooks the mixture will thicken considerably.
6. once it thickens, stop whisking every few seconds to see if the mixture has come to a boil.  as soon as you see it bubbling, whisk for ten seconds more and remove from the heat.  it will become grainy if you allow it to boil for too long.
7. remove to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. stir in the vanilla.

final notes:
pastry cream is easier to make that i thought it would be.  please note that it needs to set before use so planning accordingly.  

<3 BabyBear