This Caramel Pastry Cream is smooth, creamy and full of caramel flavor. It is the perfect filling for tarts, puff pastry, cream puffs, éclairs or even as a twist on banana cream pie!
Before you begin, measure all your ingredients and have them ready to go. Set up a landing spot for the finished custard. Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap or set out a large bowl. Pastry cream isn’t difficult but it does require a little bit of timing.
Prepare the caramel
In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, stir together milk, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean pod. Heat over medium heat until warm. Set aside.
In a second pot, preferably with sides that are at least 4 inches deep (for safety and ease of whisking), add the 1 ¾ cup sugar designated for the caramel. Heat over medium-high heat. The sugar will melt unevenly, so stir gently a few times to redistribute the melting sugar. It is okay to stir a dry caramel. Stirring too much will create clumps that will never melt. You can strain these out if desired.
When the caramel has turned a dark amber color and just starts to smoke, slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the caramel.Be careful, it will splatter and pop. Heat over medium until the caramel has incorporated into the milk. If you have stubborn lumps of sugar, strain them out into another bowl and then pour the caramel milk back into the pot.
Prepare Pastry Cream:
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, yolks and remaining sugar until pale yellow and doubled in volume. Whisk in cornstarch
Bring caramel milk to a boil and slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Adding a little at a time will slowly bring your eggs up to the temperature of the milk without scrambling them. Pour the egg milk mixture back into the pot and return to the stove top.
Tip: Choose a whisk that will get into the corners of your pot. I prefer a French (straight) whisk for this job because it will allow you to cover the surface area and get into the corners. This keeps the custard from getting stuck around the edges and clumping.
Whisk over medium heat until it begins tothicken and comes to a boil. Continue whisking 1 minute as the custard boils.This activates the cornstarch and cooks out the raw starch flavor.
Pour hot custard out onto prepared baking sheet or bowl, cover the surface with a sheet of plastic wrap, poke a few holes and refrigerate.
Emergency Lump Removal: If you did happen to get a few lumps, press it through a fine mesh sieve onto the baking sheet or into the bowl while hot. Use a ladle or silicone spatula to help!
How to Prepare Pastry Cream for Use:
Before you use pastry cream, you need to “refresh it” or “condition” it. All this means is you need to beat it so that it becomes smooth and silky. This won’t get any lumps out but it will create a more pleasant product to eat and work with.
Place the desired amount of pastry cream in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. You don’t want to beat it too long or it will loosen and the cornstarch will lose some of its hold and it will not firm back up when chilled. This can lead to loose, unruly fillings.
Notes
Flavor Tips – This is the perfect recipe to use a “spent” vanilla bean pod! Use a pre-split and scraped pod for the milk infusion, or use a fresh vanilla bean and her seeds.Technique – Pastry cream is a simple recipe, and, as such, each step is integral to the quality of the final results. Each step is intentional and either helps avoid common pit falls or add to the flavor.Helpful Tools – Sometimes the difference between good and great is choosing the right tool. Choose a whisk that can reach into the corners of your pot.Variations – For even more caramel flavor, add up to ½ cup salted caramel sauce to the pastry cream while it is is still warm. The more you add, the looser the custard will be.Storage – Store caramel pastry cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. It will begin to leach moisture after a few days. This is normal. It will separate less if stored in one layer like on a baking sheet covered in plastic wrap verses mounded in a storage container.Yield: 1,500 g