Pasticciera Cream Italian Pastry Cream Recipes

Steps:

• Place sugar, egg yolks flour, lemon rind (if using it), and vanilla in a sauce pan and mix together well.
• In a separate sauce pan, scald milk.
• Very slowly pour milk over egg yolk mixture, in a thin stream, beating constantly with rotary beater.
• Continue cooking on low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches the boiling point.
• Cook 4 minutes longer, stirring constantly.
• (**At this point, if making chocolate pasticciera cream, add chocolate and while stirring, cook 1 minute longer.) Remove pan from heat, add butter and mix well.
• Pour into bowl and let cool, stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming over the top.
• If using as a cake/pastry filling, chill (with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming) until very thick at least 3-4 hours.
• For Chocolate Pasticciera Cream: **Add grated chocolate to cooked pasticciera cream and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly, until chocolate is blended well.
• Cool/chill before using as a cake/pastry filling.

Steps:

• Stir together milk and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring, just until small bubbles appear at edges. Remove pan from heat.
• Put egg and yolks and the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Beat in the hot milk mixture. Raise speed to high; beat 1 minute more. Transfer the pastry cream to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer warm pastry cream to a bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface. Refrigerate until just chilled, about 2 hours, or up to 1 day.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat with an electric mixer or whisk until creamy and light yellow. Mix in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth.
• Put the milk, cream, and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over low heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. Do not boil. Gradually beat in the egg yolk mixture, making sure to beat until there are no lumps. Return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the pastry cream thickens, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook. The mixture should be thick, but not stiff. It will solidify as it cools.
• Immediately remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, with the wrap touching the surface of the pastry cream so it doesn't form a skin. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours.

Steps:

• Crema pasticcera is not difficult to make, though it does require care and attention lest it curdle. Fernanda Gosetti, author of Il Dolcissimo, suggests you use a copper pot because it conducts heat better, and adds that if you make crema pasticcera frequently you should invest in a round-bottomed pot because its entire contents will be accessible to the whisk or spoon. She also notes that the crema should be transferred to a bowl as soon as it's ready, because it will continue to cook in the pot. The quantities given above can easily be expanded or reduced. Set all but 1/2 cup of the milk to warm over a slow burner with the vanilla bean. In the meantime, lightly whisk the yolks in a bowl to break them. Strain the flour into the bowl, whisking gently, and making sure that no lumps form. Whisk in the sugar too, and then the remaining half cup of milk, keeping a wary eye for lumps. By this time the milk on the stove will be about ready to boil. Fish out and discard the vanilla bean, and slowly whisk the milk into the egg-and-milk mixture. Return the cream to the pot and the pot to the fire, and continue cooking over a low flame, stirring gently, until it barely reaches a slow boil. Count to 120 while stirring constantly and it's done. (Note -- depending on your eggs and milk it may thicken to the proper consistency before it boils. If it reaches roughly the consistency of commercially prepared plain yogurt of the sort that will pour from the cup it's done). Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool, gently stirring it often to keep a skin from forming across top.

Steps:

• Heat half-and-half, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. If using vanilla bean, add this as well.
• Whisk yolks in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until sugar begins to dissolve and mixture is creamy. Whisk in cornstarch until combined and mixture is pal yellow and thick.
• When half-and-half mixture reaches full simmer, gradually whisk half-and-half mixture into yolk mixture to temper. Return mixture to pan, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
• Return to simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy. This takes about a minute.
• Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla (if using vanilla bean, scrape the pod and add seeds). Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over medium bowl. This will remove any curdled bits that might have formed during the cooking process.
• Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream to prevent skimming and refrigerate until cold and ready to use.