Quick N Easy Pastry Cream Recipes

NO-FUSS PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup; add to saucepan along with butter and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil 1 minute, still whisking; then remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface of cream to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.

PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Stir together the milk, salt, vanilla bean and seeds and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sugar has just dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While continually whisking, slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture. Continue to whisk until smooth. (This is called tempering, and it will prevent the yolks from scrambling.) Continue whisking and adding 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture at a time until completely combined and smooth.
• Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and the texture of pudding, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the butter until smooth and glossy. Remove the vanilla bean.
• Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Before serving, whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fluffy.

PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.
• When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

QUICKEST PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Cut 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter into 1/2 to 1/4-inch dice, place on a plate and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients.Measure water and add salt; stir to dissolve and set aside.
• Coarsely dice remaining 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter. Place flour in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; add 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed -- about ten to twelve 1-second pulses.
• Add remaining butter and pulse once or twice to distribute. Add water and pulse 3 or 4 times, just until dough forms a rough ball. Do not over-process.
• Flour work surface and scrape dough from work bowl. Shape dough into a rough rectangle and place between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make a 12 by 18 inch rectangle of dough.
• Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough to floured work surface. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold dough in thirds in the width, folding the top third down and the bottom third up, to make a 6 by 18-inch rectangle, then roll up the dough from one of the 6-inch ends, making sure to roll end under dough. Press the dough into a square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm.

VANILLA PUDDING PASTRY FILLING FAST

Steps:

• Whisk milk and instant pudding and let sit till thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Fold into Whipped Heavy Cream.
• Fill pastry bag and pipe into desired shell, or spoon into trifle, etc.
• Now, I use this in my cream puffs and top with drizzled chocolate. I use these with a hint of cinnamon inside dessert crepes and top with berry sauce (see recipe for mixed berry sauce). I use this as a frosting for cupcakes, and brownies. The possibilities are endless.
• This is enough for one cream puff recipe. Feel free to double or triple according to your needs.

THICK PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• 1. Set a clean, dry, nonreactive bowl and a sturdy rubber spatula near the stove. Put a large, fine strainer over a large bowlm ready to pour hot pastry cream through it.
• 2. In another bowl, mix the flour with 1 cup of the sugar. Whisk in the eggs until smooth. The mixture will be very thick.
• 3. In a 2 1/2- to 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix the milk, the remaining cup of sugar, and the salt. Scald over medium heat, stirring frequently so it doesn't scorch or form a skin. When the milk has a ring of small bubbles around the edge of the pan, remove it from the heat and, with a whisk, stir 1 cup of the milk, a little at a time, into the flour and egg mixture. Whisk in another cup of hot milk, then pour the now-tempered flour and egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk, whisking constantly. Still whisking constantly, but slowly, over medium to medium-low heat, cook the mixture until it thickens, Pull it off the heat at the first sign of a boil - as soon as the first bubble breaks on the surface. This will take about 5 minutes.
• 4. Immediately pour the hot pastry cream through the strainer and into the bowl, using the spatula to remove it all from the pan and to push it through the sieve. Stir in the vanilla.
• 5. Cover the very surface of the cream with wax paper or plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least several hours, or until chilled. Pastry cream can be kept refrigerated for several days, sometimes up to a week, depending on the efficiency of the refrigeration.

CHEATER NO-COOK PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Blend heavy cream, pudding mix, sour cream, and salt in a medium bowl using a whisk or a hand mixer set on medium speed until well-blended and smooth. Refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.

QUICK N EASY PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the cornstarch with the sugar in a mixing bowl.
• Lightly beat 4 egg yolks (in a seperate bowl)
• Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into the sugar and cornstarch mixture and stir well with a whisk.
• Blend the lightly beaten yolks into the cornstarch and sugar mixture
• Stir with a wooden spoon until it is completely smooth
• In a sauce pan or pot, combine the remaining 1 ½ cups milk. Bring to a simmer (do not boil) and remove the pan from the heat
• To temper, you can gradually add about one-third of the milk mixture at the time, but I like to drizzle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture little by litte while I'm whisking, just in case. Don't forget to whisk constantly!
• Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking over low-medium heat, vigorously stir with a whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream. It will take a little while to come to a boil - about 5 minutes
• Remove the pan from the heat as soon as you reach that consistency (if you leave on a stove too long, it won't be soft and creamy pasty cream), and add the vanilla extract and the butter. Stir well until they are well blended.
• Cover the pastry cream surface with plastic wrap and put into the fridge until the pastry cream is cool which takes about 15 minutes.