Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Crème pâtissière

1

If I'm given the choice between chocolate and vanilla I wouldn't hesitate 1 second on choosing anything vanilla! 
2 years ago on our honeymoon in French Polynesia, we visited an amazing vanilla plantation on the Island of Raiatea (click here to see pics), I felt like a kid in a candy store, it was such a unique experience to see where these precious vanilla pods come from. We brought back quite a few pods from our trip and kept them vacuum sealed for them to keep their freshness and as I opened a pack for this recipe, they tasted just like when we picked them 2 years ago.

Here's a very simple creme patisserie recipe which I then used to fill little Christmas treats back in December (post to follow). 

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
140g caster sugar
45g cornstarch 
400ml whole milk
2 vanilla pods
100ml heavy cream 

Method:
- In a sauce pan, bring the milk, heavy cream and split vanilla pods to a simmer, turn the heat off, set aside and let the mixture infuse for at least 15 minutes (picture 2,3,5)

- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until they turn pale and subsequently  amalgamate the sifted cornstarch into the mixture (picture 6,8,9)

- Remove the vanilla pods from the saucepan (picture 10) and pour the egg mixture into it, whisking continuously bring the pastry cream to a simmer until the desired thickness is reached (picture 11,12,13)

- Place the ready custard in a bowl and cover with cling film directly on the pastry so that it doesn't form that unpleasant skin on the top (picture 14)

-Once the creme patisserie has cooled down, place it in the fridge and use to fill your favorite baked goods!

* Original recipe from Giallo Zafferano 


2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15