Majida Rashid
It’s creamy, it’s rich, and it’s yummy. It can be used on its own or mixed with whipped cream. It’s usually used as the filling for tarts or other pastries such as profiteroles or cream puffs as they are called in America. It’s none other than Crème Pâtissière, which, in the U.S., once again, goes by the plain name of pastry cream.
While crème pâtissière looks like custard, which is made with powdered ingredients, it is not custard. Chef Frank, the pastry chef at the five-star Diplomat hotel of Bahrain taught me how to make this. It’s simple and easy to make but needs a bit of attention.
A few points to remember:
Cooking should be done over low heat.
Only hand whisk is required for this unless one is making a big batch using a dozen or more egg yolks.
The milk’s temperature is important for smooth crème. It should be a little hot but never boiling. Scalding milk would scramble the egg yolks. If the milk is too hot then let it stand a little to lower its temperature.
The pan with the milk should be covered during heating and afterwards. This prevents the formation of skin.
After the yolk mixture is poured into the pan, cook it only until the crème bubbles. Sometimes, that may not be apparent due to the consistency of the yolk mixture. So remove the pan from the heat as soon as it burps. It takes only a minute.
The crème should be wrapped in cling film. This ensures that no skin is formed during the cooling process.
Crème Pâtissière
Ingredients
3 cups milk
6 yolks of large eggs
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons sifted cornstarch
6 tablespoons sifted all purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
Directions
Cover the base of a deep oblong baking pan with cling film and leave aside.
Sift together the corn starch and the flour.
Pour the milk and half of the sugar in a pan.
Cover the pan and place it over very low heat.
Place the egg yolks in a bowl and beat them with a hand whisk for about 5 minutes.
Add the sugar, a little at a time, and whisk well after each addition.
Whisk for a few more minutes after all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture resembles thick ribbon stage. The mixture should be thick and fall in a continuous stream instead of breaking off or just sticking to parts of the whisk.
Remove the pan from the heat and keep aside if the milk is very hot.
Add the corn starch and flour mixture, a little at a time, in the yolk-sugar mixture.
Whisk after each addition to obtain smooth texture.
Gently mix in the warm milk in a thin stream, whisking continuously, until all the milk is incorporated in the yolks.
Pour the yolk-milk mixture in the pan.
Place the pan over the stove and cook, for a minute, over very low heat, stirring continuously.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.
Mix in the vanilla essence.
Transfer the crème onto the pan that has been lined with cling film.
Cover the crème pâtissière with the cling film and allow it to cool at room temperature
It’s ready to be used as soon as it cools down. It can also be refrigerated for two days. Keeping the crème longer will make it denser and it will release liquid.
I will give a recipe for using the crème pâtissière in the next month’s column.
I experimented with freezing the crème pâtissière for the first time. This is how it should be done.
Completely cool the crème pâtissière. Place it in a zip lock bag and freeze. Before using it take out of the freezer and keep it at room temperature for a couple of hours. Whisk it for a couple of minutes. Then whisk together about 1/4 cup of whipping cream and a tablespoon of sugar to stiff peaks. Gently fold it in the crème before using it. This
makes it lighter. However, the frozen cream can be shaved and consumed on its own or used to top sliced fruit. Children love the shavings.
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food@Frontiers_Of_Flavor. Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.word press.com.
While crème pâtissière looks like custard, which is made with powdered ingredients, it is not custard. Chef Frank, the pastry chef at the five-star Diplomat hotel of Bahrain taught me how to make this. It’s simple and easy to make but needs a bit of attention.
A few points to remember:
Cooking should be done over low heat.
Only hand whisk is required for this unless one is making a big batch using a dozen or more egg yolks.
The milk’s temperature is important for smooth crème. It should be a little hot but never boiling. Scalding milk would scramble the egg yolks. If the milk is too hot then let it stand a little to lower its temperature.
The pan with the milk should be covered during heating and afterwards. This prevents the formation of skin.
After the yolk mixture is poured into the pan, cook it only until the crème bubbles. Sometimes, that may not be apparent due to the consistency of the yolk mixture. So remove the pan from the heat as soon as it burps. It takes only a minute.
The crème should be wrapped in cling film. This ensures that no skin is formed during the cooling process.
Crème Pâtissière
Ingredients
3 cups milk
6 yolks of large eggs
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons sifted cornstarch
6 tablespoons sifted all purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
Directions
Cover the base of a deep oblong baking pan with cling film and leave aside.
Sift together the corn starch and the flour.
Pour the milk and half of the sugar in a pan.
Cover the pan and place it over very low heat.
Place the egg yolks in a bowl and beat them with a hand whisk for about 5 minutes.
Add the sugar, a little at a time, and whisk well after each addition.
Whisk for a few more minutes after all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture resembles thick ribbon stage. The mixture should be thick and fall in a continuous stream instead of breaking off or just sticking to parts of the whisk.
Remove the pan from the heat and keep aside if the milk is very hot.
Add the corn starch and flour mixture, a little at a time, in the yolk-sugar mixture.
Whisk after each addition to obtain smooth texture.
Gently mix in the warm milk in a thin stream, whisking continuously, until all the milk is incorporated in the yolks.
Pour the yolk-milk mixture in the pan.
Place the pan over the stove and cook, for a minute, over very low heat, stirring continuously.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.
Mix in the vanilla essence.
Transfer the crème onto the pan that has been lined with cling film.
Cover the crème pâtissière with the cling film and allow it to cool at room temperature
It’s ready to be used as soon as it cools down. It can also be refrigerated for two days. Keeping the crème longer will make it denser and it will release liquid.
I will give a recipe for using the crème pâtissière in the next month’s column.
I experimented with freezing the crème pâtissière for the first time. This is how it should be done.
Completely cool the crème pâtissière. Place it in a zip lock bag and freeze. Before using it take out of the freezer and keep it at room temperature for a couple of hours. Whisk it for a couple of minutes. Then whisk together about 1/4 cup of whipping cream and a tablespoon of sugar to stiff peaks. Gently fold it in the crème before using it. This
makes it lighter. However, the frozen cream can be shaved and consumed on its own or used to top sliced fruit. Children love the shavings.
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food@Frontiers_Of_Flavor. Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.word press.com.
