There custard (or custard, with the i) is the cream most known and used in pastry: it is one quick and easy recipewhich can be served as sweet with a spoon or used for the filling of sponge cakes, baked cakes and pies, cream puffs, profiteroles and various other sweet products, even cold.
This sweet and yellow cream It is very simple to prepare and in the classic recipe provides for the use of a few and simple ingredients, or egg yolks, sugar, milk and flour, but they have been made many variations, like the Diplomatic cream, which is obtained by adding the whipped cream; there lemon custard, with the addition of lemon juice and zest to the base dough; there vanilla cream, inserting a few drops of vanilla essence, while another variant is the one with cocoa or melted chocolate to obtain the chocolate custard.
Today I show how to make the original custard in the recipe of traditional grandma, but before going to see doses and preparation in detail, there is still some advice to give: despite being a simple cream to do at home, however, hides some pitfalls, starting with the possibility of finding lumps or obtaining a final result that has a too marked taste of eggs.
Even though I personally prefer them classic ingredients, as an alternative to flour there are those who suggest to use potato starch or cornstarch (35 grams in both cases), which help to make the product more velvety and to avoid the possible formation of lumps. If, despite everything, the cream makes lumps and you look for a solution you can try to use a hand blender: it is not an optimal choice and will make the purists turn up their noses, but in case of emergency it can save our preparation! But when there are too many lumps or the cream is liquid and she has not grown up, there is little to do and you have to start over (it happens to everyone, do not worry!).
In short, in the kitchen and in pastry you must always pay attention and respect all the steps!
Here is my recipe for preparing one perfect custard and in a short time: I confess that I love tasting this very good cream even alone and I often prepare the afternoon and accompany it with cookies … divine!
Method
How to make custard
Cut a stick of vanilla with the tip of a knife, acting lengthwise. Then put it in a saucepan with milk and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
In a bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar. Add the sifted flour to the egg yolks.
Raise the vanilla stick that you have left to infuse in the milk, pour the milk into the mixture and mix it.
Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and cook the cream, stirring constantly so as not to create lumps. Let it simmer until the cream thickens.
Remove the custard from the heat, allow to cool to room temperature and stir occasionally.
When it has cooled, we will cover the bowl with a layer of transparent film, to be applied in contact with the cream: this simple operation will prevent the formation of the opaque skin on the surface, leaving our preparation clear and shiny.
The transparent film is also an ally to preserve the custard, which resists in the fridge for up to three days if properly covered and protected.
Then use the custard for the preparation of your desserts or serve it as a dessert along with some biscuits.
TAGS: Pastry Cream Recipe How to prepare custard | Custard custard recipe
