Pastry Cream...the Good Stuff

Pastry cream isn't a new thing.  Truly, a couple eggs, some milk and a little flour, and you have it.  I like simplicity.  Occasionally I find a recipe that is a little labor intensive (more than dump and mix) and the return on investment (the time and effort) is so well worth it that I don't go back to the easy way.  This is one of those.  Have you ever had a pastry from a store and thought, 'That is just too perfect. No one could create this texture at home with real ingredients.'  Yes, you can...

FANCY PASTRY CREAM:
Ingred:
2 cups half-and-half (or 1 c whole milk + 1 c cream)
1/2 c sugar
pinch salt
5 egg yolks
3 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp cold butter cut in 4 pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat the half-and-half, 6 tbsp of sugar, and salt in a heavy round bottom sauce pan (a saucier) over medium, stirring.

All Clad Stainless Steel 1 Qt Saucier Pan - 8701004436 (Google Affiliate Ad)
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until combined.  Add the 2 tbsp sugar thats left and whisk to dissolve and is creamy, about 15 seconds.  Add the cornstarch and whisk until pale yellow and thick, 20 seconds.

Now to temper the eggs.  The important part about this is to WHISK a lot while you add the hot liquid to the eggs.  Otherwise, you'll end up with pieces of cooked yolk in the cream, and no one wants that.  Just stream small amounts of milk into the eggs, running the whisk back and forth briskly to quickly dissapate that heat in the eggs... Here goes....
Professional Wood-Handled Whisk, 8" Balloon (Google Affiliate Ad)

When the milk is up to simmering (steaming and maybe a few bubbles around the edge but NOT boiling), add a little of the hot milk to the egg and whisk, adding a little more and more, whisking, to raise the temperature of the egg without cooking it.  When the egg liquid is warm, do the same thing the other way: drizzle the egg into the hot milk, whisking constantly, until all incorporated.  Keep on medium heat, and keep whisking until large bubbles burst on the surface.  Don't go anywhere,  it should be nice and thick in about 30 seconds.

Take off heat and add vanilla and butter, and whisk in.

Camford Stainless Steel Mesh Sieve, 4" (Google Affiliate Ad)
This step is another important one, giving your cream the absolute perfection you only dream of.  At least I do.  Using a nylon or metal sieve (like you'd use to sift powdered sugar on top of something), pour in the hot cream set over a glass bowl.  Stir it around, mashing it through with a rubber spatula or spoon until it's all in the bowl.  Now lay a sheet of plastic wrap or buttered waxed paper on the cream surface to keep all air from touching the cream (it will prevent a nasty skin forming) and put in fridge 3 hours to overnight.

After chilling it's ready to go.  Whisk it up again, put in a pastry bag or a ziploc with the corner cut off and pipe into your cream puffs or eclairs!  Even spoon into dessert cups and serve with pirouline cookies or dust with cocoa and give em a spoon.  

***Coffee Pastry Cream: Use 1 Cup sweetened espresso coffee and 1 cup half-and-half instead of 2 cups halfandhalf for AMAZING coffee pastry cream.
***Chocolate Pastry Cream: Add 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa to the yolks, and 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, when you add the butter at the end for wonderful chocolate pastry cream.