Vanilla Pastry Cream

Have you every been watching a baking show on TV and someone says “Crème Pat”? Well, she’s not a relative but a delicious Pastry Cream. Here’s a SIMPLE one-pot way to make a delicious Crème Pâtissière! I have to thank Martha Stewart for the inspiration for this recipe!

Ingredients:

DRY Mixture:

½ C granulated white sugar

¼ C Corn Starch

Pinch of Kosher Salt

WET Mixture:

2 C whole milk, room temp

4 Large Egg Yolks, room temp

2 T butter, salted or unsalted (may need to adjust the size of your “pinch” in Dry mix

1 t pure vanilla extract

Other Stuff:

Heavy-Bottomed pot

Whisk

Wide 4 C Measuring Cup

Fine-mesh Sieve

Spatula

Large cooling bowl

Cling Film

Instructions:

Set everything out to become room temp.

Whisk together your cornstarch, sugar and pinch of salt. In your large measuring cup, combine the milk and egg yolks, whisking until eggs are well incorporated. Add Wet mixture to Dry mixture whisking the entire time as to not form clumps. Add Softened butter. Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Once on a full boil, let boil for one minute to completely activate the corn starch, still whisking.

After the minute of boiling, turn the heat off and add in the vanilla (flavoring of your choice) and whisk until thoroughly combined. Switching to a spatula pour mixture through sieve into bowl to filter any potential cooked egg pieces. Cover with cling film place directly onto the mixture to keep from forming a “skin”. Let cool at room temp for 30 minutes and in the fridge for up to 2 days before use.

I always make mine a day ahead and use it in a tart shell the next morning to allow ample time for it to set up!

That’s all there is to this wonderful Crème Pâtissière! 

Vanilla Pastry cream is the base of this delicious fruit tart! 

Will Bake 4 Food RSS

Pineapple Fruit CURD!

Pineapple Fruit Curd

When one hears the word “curd,” it’s a little like “curds and whey” that little Miss Muffet was eating. . . There are two types of curds: Those derived from a dairy’s separation and a “fruit curd” that’s made with a citrus fruit’s juice, eggs, sugar, and butter (SUPER Simple!). Here’s how I make a simple pineapple curd that will keep you satisfied for days!

Ingredients:

4 Grade A Large egg yolks

½ C granulated sugar

*½ C (scant) canned pineapple juice, shaken  

4T UNSALTED butter, cubed and room temp

*1/8 t salt, if using fresh juice, but taste before you put this in. . .

*I’ve used canned juice, and it works beautifully.  If you would like to use fresh juice, puree cubed pineapple slices in a blender and, through cheesecloth, strain the pulp from the juice. . .

Other things you’ll need:

Heavy bottomed pot

Heat safe bowl, ideally with larger diameter than the heavy bottomed pot

Whisk OR hand held mixer with beaters

Wooden/Silicone heat-safe spatula

Fine mesh strainer

Instructions:

In the bottom of your heavy bottomed pot, bring about an inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Make sure that this water will not touch your heatproof bowl once it’s been placed over top. At this point, I like to cube my UNSALTED butter so that it comes to room temp easily while the curd is cooking.

In your heatproof stainless steel/glass bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth paste forms. (If you’re using a handheld mixer, you can use it to beat this together) A little at a time, whisk in the pineapple juice to form the liquid mixture.

Place this bowl over the simmering water and whisk or beat with handheld for about 6-7 minutes on low speed. At this point, you can switch to a spoon and just stir. You want to be sure to keep the mixture moving as to not cook bits of the eggs. Stir for about 3 more minutes. The mixture is cooked when the paste formed coats the back of your spoon, and with a finger run through the middle, it stays separated. IF you have an instant read thermometer, you want to make sure that the liquid has reached at least 160degF to prevent any food-borne illness.

After your liquid has cooked for about 10 minutes total (may take longer if it’s a really humid day) and reached the consistency of a thick yogurt, pull it from the heat and incorporate the UNSALTED butter a little at a time making sure to melt each cube before the next is put in. (I generally never use unsalted butter, but for this application, it’s a MUST! Especially, if you’re using the canned pineapple.) After all of the butter has melted into the mixture, you can now run the fruit curd through a fine mesh strainer to catch any little bits of eggs that may have cooked. Once in the cooling bowl, cover with cling film that touches the curd; this will prevent a “skin” from developing. Chill for about 2 hours in the refrigerator before using. The liquid will firm up the cooler that it gets.

Our Pineapple curd is directly under the cherries in these DELICIOUS macarons! 

That’s all you need for a delicious treat of Pineapple curd! 

***Below is a demonstration of a Lemon curd. . . the process is the same, but the ingredients are a bit different. . . Check it out! ***

LEMON CURD!!

Ingredients:
DRY:
1 Cup of Sugar
WET:
5 Egg Yolks (I've also used 3 yolks and one whole egg for a fluffier version)
Zest and Juice of 4 lemons (only 1/3 cup of juice)

1 Stick of butter chilled and cubed.

Other Equipment:

Hand Held mixer with Beater attachment

Zester.

Separate Eggs and make a delicious meringue with the whites!
Prep the lemons by zesting and Juicing (it only takes me 2 1/2 lemon's juiced to gain 1/3 cup).

Start a pot with c. 1 inch of water in it to simmer

In a stainless steel bowl, combine yolks and sugar and whisk until dissolved. Then add lemon and zest and combine until smooth.

Place bowl with mixture over simmering pot of water and with a hand mixer fitted with beaters, beat until the mixture sticks to the back of a spoon. It takes about 8-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and then add in the butter a pad at a time making sure that each one is melted into the lemon mixture before adding the next.

Place curd into a clean bowl and then put plastic wrap over the curd and make sure that it touches the top of the curd and stick it in the fridge.

Here's my tutorial of how to make Alton Brown's Lemon Curd! Thank you, Alton Brown for the recipe!