Pastry cream filling

Ingredients
500 ml (2 cups) Whole milk 3% fat
100 g (½ cups) Granulated sugar
80 g (⅓ cups) Egg yolk approx. yolk of 4-5 eggs
25 g (⅕ cups) Corn starch
25 g (⅕ cups) All purpose flour
2 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
50 g (¼ cups) Unsalted butter 82% fat, room temperature soft butter

US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.

Instructions

In a large enough bowl, with the help of a Hand whisk, whick together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in corn starch, flour, and vanilla with until thoroughly incorporated and have a smooth paste.

Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on medium heat then remove it as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is simmering but not crazy boiling.

Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a Hand whisk. This stage is effectively tempering the egg yolks and the mixture should already start to slightly thicken
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don't worry just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy. It's worth to keep a good quality (so that the milk won't burn in it) small/medium sized saucepan for making pastry cream only.

If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump free, creamy end result
Add in room temperature soft butter and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth to add the butter in 3 stages and mix well after each addition.

Pastry cream needs to completely cool before using it for desserts. Place the cream into a shallow bowl and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top. Store in fridge for 2-3 days.

Once cooled, you may need to whisk the pastry cream again to get a smooth texture. Make sure you do not over mix it as it can get runny. Give it a few whisk only until smooth. Use it to fill tarts, eclairs, cakes etc

INGREDIENT NOTES:

Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
Good quality butter and pure vanilla are the heart of making pastry cream. Use high-quality 82% fat content European butter and the best quality vanilla you can access.

Fresh, farm eggs will provide bright yellow color cream, while cheaper supermarket eggs will result in a pale cream.

TECHNIQUE NOTES:

Let the cream set in the fridge before using. It will further set as it cools into a silky, pipeable consistency.