Vanilla Pastry Cream

Summer is around the corner, and with it – gorgeous berries!

Of all of the desserts I have made in my life, I had never made a pastry cream until just a few years ago.  It’s one of the baking basics that had somehow escaped me.  I love a good berry tart and recently made individual tarts divvying up this Sweet Tart Crust recipe, filling it with this pastry cream, and nestling some gorgeous fresh berries on top.

Here is the pastry cream recipe from the cookbook Shirley got me a number of Christmases ago, Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.  It makes about 2 cups, enough to fill a 9″ tart shell, or five individual 4″ tart shells. It certainly is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of recipe, but worth every minute.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Stirring all the while, carefully drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk to temper the yolks so they won’t curdle.  Continuously stirring, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly making sure to get into the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
3. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold. Or if you’re short on time, you can put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

To make individual tarts, follow the instructions for a fully baked Sweet Tart Crust, dividing dough evenly among five 4″ tart pans. Cut the baking time down to about 20 minutes total and start checking on it every 1-2 minutes until it’s golden brown. You’ll likely end up around 25 minutes’ baking time.

The pastry cream can be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.