There are few things in this world that I would label as the BEST, but let me tell you, this is seriously the BEST pastry cream you will EVER encounter.
Pastry cream is more commonly known as a custard, a mixture of milk and egg yolks typically cooked to thicken.
Using a good quality vanilla bean definitely elevates a good pastry cream to the next level and gives you a beautifully aromatic custard with rich vanilla flavor, and those specs, those glorious vanilla been seeds… swoon!
You’re going to want to throw away your current recipe and replace it with this one because it can be manipulated in many ways to suit your needs.
Not to mention this pastry cream will have you coming back for more… and more… and well you just might find yourself resisting the urge to sit down with the bowl and the spoon ( I mean I wouldn’t blame you if you did, or judge you!)
A little berry love
I was playing around in the kitchen trying to find a way to perfectly highlight some fresh berries I had in the fridge, and what better way than berries and custard!
But let’s take it one step further and make a tart.
Not just any tart, but one that would feature brown sugar, cream cheese and of course berries!
I could have certainly stopped there, great vanilla bean paste and a good thick sweet custard, but why?
Pushing the flavor envelope is ALWAYS fun!
One of the easiest ways to completely change a recipe is to simply swap out the sugar, and what better substitute than brown sugar. It has such a nice light caramel undertone and gives any recipe great depth and a whole new flavor profile.
To balance the richness of the custard and the sweetness of the sugar it was only appropriate that I add an acidic element to the cream. Whether in the kitchen making a savory dish or baking up sweets, it’s extremely important that you balance the flavors, this wouldn’t be possible without acid and salt, they both play a HUGE role in baked goods.
To complete the balance in my tart I chose to add cream cheese, yup… you read that correctly, cream cheese! What better way to balance the acidity and salt and give a beautifully rich, creamy and smooth pastry cream.
The cream cheese gives you a gentle flavor, its not as strong a cheesecake would be, but the flavor is just beautiful!
I know this all sounds crazy, and makes this dish sound like it’s far to hard, but let me reassure you that it is so simple, easy and DELICIOUS that you will be looking for every excuse to make it.
Enough talking… let’s get to baking.
To make this beautiful and delicious tart
I started by making a pate sucree… OK tooo fancy, a shortbread style crust.
To balance the overall bite, I also subbed out the granulated sugar for brown sugar.
I prepared my crust according to the recipe, and baked it.
Once completely cooled… I know, it requires patience!
I took my prepared pastry cream (While still warm, not HOT) and filled the tart.
Covered it and refrigerated until set! (2-3 hours)… again we have to exercise our skills in being patient, if you dig in too soon you won’t get a perfect slice… you’ll end up with a soupy sloppy mess, delicious none the less but a mess!
Once removed from the fridge the tart was adorned with an abundance of fresh fruits.
I chose a crescent moon style arrangement for this as I wanted to show off the luxurious vanilla beans in the pastry cream.
You can do this with some of your favorite berries and you can certainly make an arrangement that covers the entire top of the tart.
Slice while chilled and serve with the berries.
I promise I won’t tell if you eat the whole thing… by yourself… in one sitting.
and I certainly won’t judge!
In fact if this is planned for a party, you should make two, you won’t want to share it!
Now, get in the kitchen and make something sweet (this tart obviously)…
| Servings |
- 1 Cup Butter Softened
- 1/4 Cup White Sugar See notes below
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar Light or Dark (Depends on the depth of flavor you want)
- 2 Cups AP Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Vanilla bean paste is my favorite to use here
Ingredients
| |
- In a mixer add butter and sugar, cream on medium for 5-7 minutes until light in color and smooth (No large chunks of sugar)
- Add flour, and stir on low until combined.
- Add Vanilla
- Add eggs, one at a time and mix until combined
- Chill dough before rolling 1-2 hours (or overnight)
- Remove dough from fridge and roll about 1/4" thick Here is where you can choose what to do; -This dough can be used to cut desired shaped cookies - Roll dough large enough fill your desired tart pan (Or pie dish) - (Method I use for tarts) Roll out dough and cut a circle the same size as the base of the tart pan. Insert base into pan. Roll a snake like piece of dough and flatten to 1/4' thick but long enough to go around entire pan (this will become the side of the tart). Place long piece of dough around edge of pan and press using fingers to secure the sides to the bottom.
- And chill again for about 30 minutes before baking
- Bake at 325F for about 25-30 minutes until golden. Time will vary based on oven and what you are baking, if making cookies they will only take around 10-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool before filling with desired filling
This dough is great for many different applications and you can play around with the sugars to get the desired flavor you are looking for.
You can replace the granulated white sugar with additional brown sugar if you a looking to get a slightly darker crust and deeper caramel flavor.
If you prefer the taste of dark brown sugar over light they are also interchangeable.
Alternatively for an equally delicious Shortbread style crust you can use all white granulated sugar, this would be great if you are not looking for that caramel undertone.
Get in the kitchen, have fun, and experiment!
Stay sweet my friends,
| Servings | cups |
- 1 1/4 Cups Whole Milk Can use cream
- 3 Tbsp White Sugar See notes below
- 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar Light or Dark (Depends on the depth of flavor you want)
- 3 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste (regular vanilla will work here as well)
- 5 Large Egg Yolks
- 8 oz Cream Cheese Softened and cubed
Ingredients
| |
- Combine 1 cup milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla bean paste, in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat. (careful not to boil, it will make a CRAZY mess on your stove) Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk yolks, cornstarch and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar together. Add remaining 1/4 cup cold milk and whisk until smooth.
- Add approx. 1/4 cup hot milk mixture to egg mixture while whisking continually.
- Add approx. another 1/4 cup, then add egg and milk mixture back to remaining hot milk in saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until thickened.
- Remove from heat, add cream cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Strain into a bowl and cover the surface directly with plastic to prevent a skin from forming. Can be used warm spooned over a dessert or refrigerated.
This pastry cream is great for many different applications and you can play around with the sugars to get the desired flavor you are looking for.
You can replace the granulated white sugar with additional brown sugar if you a looking to get a slightly darker custard and deeper caramel flavor it will appear more tan color the more brown sugar you use.
If you prefer the taste of dark brown sugar over light they are also interchangeable.
Alternatively for an equally delicious vanilla bean custard you can use all white granulated sugar, this would be great if you are not looking for that caramel undertone.
Get in the kitchen, have fun, and experiment!
Stay sweet my friends, and try not to eat the whole bowl before your dessert is complete 😉
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