This is a great basic recipe for pastry cream and is adapted from Craig Claiborne's "The New York Times Cook Book". It's actually my favorite one for use at home. This recipe makes about 3 cups of pastry cream.

Pastry Cream

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 cups milk, scalded
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure

1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and yolks together. While whisking, gradually add in the milk, whisking rapidly. Cook over low heat until the mixture is thickened and smooth; use a wire whisk for this. Don't let pastry cream come to a full boil. Cool and add in the vanilla.

Notes

 

Content by Renee Shelton. Recipe adapted from: Claiborne, Craig. The New York Times Cook Book: Revised Edition. New York: Harper, 1990. This recipe was first published on PastrySampler.com on January 10, 2007. It was updated on October 14, 2020.