Caramel Pastry Cream after Supper

Set out granulated sugar for caramel, whole milk 1 quart, and vanilla bean split and scraped before you start Caramel Pastry Cream after Supper. The batch is written for 20 people.

Count on 10 minutes of prep, 20 minutes of cooking, about 30 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar for caramel
• 4 cups whole milk 1 quart
• 1 vanilla bean split and scraped
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar for milk mixture
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar for egg mixture
• 2 whole eggs
• 4 yolks
• 10 tbsp Cornstarch ½ cup + 2 tbsp

How the cooking goes

1. 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 sheet pan 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

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, stir together milk, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean pod. Heat over a moderate flame until warm. Keep it to one side.
2. 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 a lively flame. 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.
3. 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 then then pour the caramel milk back into the pot.

Prepare Pastry Cream

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, yolks and remaining sugar until pale yellow and doubled in volume. Whisk in cornstarch.
2. 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.
3. Tip: Choose a whisk that will get into the corners of your pot. You 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.
4. Beat over a moderate flame 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.
5. Tip hot custard out onto prepared sheet pan or bowl, cover the surface with a sheet of plastic wrap, poke a few holes and refrigerate.
6. Emergency Lump Removal: If you did happen to get a few lumps, press it through a fine mesh sieve onto the sheet pan or into the bowl while hot. Use a ladle or silicone spatula to help!

How to Prepare Pastry Cream for Use

1. 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.
2. Place the desired amount of pastry cream in a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the texture looks 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.

After it comes off the heat

Chill it for the time the method names before serving. Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator.

If you want another plate from Custards, open Vanilla Pudding after Supper and Crème Caramel after Supper.