Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)

Original Recipe:

"Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)" from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts by French Culinary Institute.

Original Ingredients: (Make about 2 cups or 500ml)

• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 large whole egg
• 50 grams (1 3/4 oz.) pastry cream powder (can substitute cornstarch)
• 128 grams (4 1/2 oz) sugar
• 473 milliliters (2 cups) whole milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• Unsalted butter for coating surface, optional

Original Method:

1. Combine the egg yolks, whole egg, and pastry cream powder (cornstarch) with half of the sugar in a mixing bowl, whisking until the mixture is well blended and lightly coloured.
2. Place the mile in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Using a small, sharp knife scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk.  Add the bean, along with the remaining sugar, and place over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then remove the pan from heat.
3. Whisking constantly, pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it.  Whisk the tempered mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan. Place the mixture over high heat and, whisking constantly, return it to a boil.  Boil, stirring constantly with a whisk and taking care to scrape the bottom and lower inner edges of the pan for 2 minutes, or until thick and smooth.
4. Remove the cream from the heat and pour it into a large, shallow pan, spreading it out with a spatula to hasten cooling.  Remove and discard vanilla bean. Cover the surface of the pastry cream with a piece of plastic film place directly over the top.  This prevents the formation of skin (tamponner).  Set aside to cool and then refrigerate until ready to use.

My Ingredients:

• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 large whole egg
• 50 grams cornstarch
• a few drops of yellow food colouring
• 128 grams castor sugar
• 473 ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

My Method: 

• I followed the recipe word for word except replacing pastry cream powder with cornstarch and yellow food colouring.

One-line Verdict:

Finger-licking-delicious! Tastes very similar to the custard bun (奶皇包) back in home.

Verdict:

• The recipe is very well written. Portion is quite accurate too, I got about 485 grams of Crème Pâtissière.
• Stirring, stirring, stirring... the key is stirring!!
• For some reason my pastry cream mixture solidified and became thick pretty quickly. Didn't have enough time to boil for a good 2 minutes
• I used 1 whole vanilla pod to compensate the "possible loss in vanilla flavour" as I used cornstarch instead of pastry cream powder (which has some extra vanilla extract).
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £5 (for one 8-inch tart, can be halved if using vanilla extract instead of vanilla pod)

Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Tart Dough)

Original Recipe:

"Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Tart Dough)" from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts by French Culinary Institute.

Original Ingredients:

• 250 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 125 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 500 grams cake flour
• 1/2-teaspoon baking powder

Original Method:

1. Place the butter in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat of low to just combine. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and creamy. 
2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. (Do not add them too quickly or the mixture will separate. If separation occurs, continue mixing until the mixture comes back together. If it does not homogenize after a period of mixing, add just a spoonful of flour to encourage the process.)
3. When the eggs are well incorporated, turn off the motor and add the cake flour and baking powder all at once. Return the machine to slow speed and, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, beat until the flour is just incorporated. Do not over-mix.
4. Using the spatula, scrape the dough from the bowl. Gather the dough together and form it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic film and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week before rolling it into the shape required. The dough may also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.

My Ingredients:

• 125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 62 grams icing sugar
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 200 grams plain flour
• 50 grams cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

My Method: 

• I followed the recipe word for word except halving it and substituting away cake flour which is not available in the UK. For 5 parts of cake flour, I use 1 part of cornstarch and 4 parts of plain flour instead.

One-line Verdict:

Easier than I expected. Hubby and my friends loved it! (Of course they didn't have it alone. It was made into a Berry Tart shell)

Verdict:

• This recipe is very well written and guarantees success!
• The only problem is... the portion seems to be INCORRECT. Before I started, I compared this with other pastry dough recipes found online as well as the other two dough recipes  (Pâte Brisée & Pâte Sablée) on the same book. Looking at the ingredients, this Pâte Sucrée recipe seems to be 50% more than others. After baking my first tart, my scepticism was proven right. The halved recipe should only be enough for one 8- to 9- inch tart. But I think I only used about 60-65% of the dough and got enough to make 9 smaller 2-inch tartlets the other day.
• I used the remaining dough to make tartlets after 2 more days but it did not work. It was quite difficult to roll it out and apparently I overworked it. With gluten built up, the resulting tartlet crusts were tough and bread-like. Next time if I have to make my own pastry dough, I will try to use up all of it on the following day.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £2 (for 1.5 or 2 eight-inch tarts)