pastry cream pudding

Well, THAT was exhausting!  Between using both my iphone and my camera (and figuring out how to edit the pictures) and puzzling over the change to edit and insert the photos, many, many days have flown by.  I'm not complaining over having to make (and eat) these delicious, creamy puddings, no indeed!  As I'm not really a chocolate lover, I usually prefer lemon or vanilla flavors - and puddings are right at the top when I want a sweet dessert.  My sister always called them "nursery food" - and I wonder which of my parents and stepparents made them for us.

The recipe comes from The Silver Palate cookbook, which must be their first one, and it's intended to be used in a flaky puff pastry tart.  Who needs puff pastry when you can just dive into this creamy, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon "pudding"?


Sweet Pastry Cream pudding

You will need one large heavy saucepan, and one medium saucepan for this - and one large stainless steel mixing bowl.

Add water about halfway up the medium saucepan and heat til almost boiling, then set aside.

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached flour
2 extra large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  I grated a tiny bit of whole nutmeg right into the bowl.

Scald the milk in a heavy saucepan (do not boil).
While milk is heating, whisk the sugar and flour in the large mixing bowl.
Add the hot milk slowly, whisking constantly.

Put the hot water back on a burner and set to a simmer.  Place stainless steel bowl on top of the simmering water, and stir or whisk for about ten minutes, or until the back of a spoon is lightly coated.  Then add the egg yolks and , using a whisk, stir until the mixture thickens even more - about ten minutes - until a spoon is thickly coated when dipped into the mixture.

Remove from heat, and add butter, vanilla, and spices and stir well.  Pour into small dessert dishes or pots and chill - though I admit, I eat it while it's still warm , often straight from the bowl.

my secret indulgence (sweet pastry cream)

A sunny, beautiful day again after a few very chilly mornings and finally, a freeze.  The household has been battling revolving strep for the last week or so;  today Anni, my daughter in law, has it for the second time, my daughter just succumbed, and Isadora is miserably sick.  The boys were sick last week with it - I hope lots of fresh air and keeping my bedroom door shut will keep me healthy and strep-free.

In between illnesses, they all went on a hike on Saturday, while I stayed home to cry over my computer and try to figure out how to fix the iPhoto problem - as in, finding a way to download my pictures from the camera into the second iPhoto page my daughter set up for me.  Total flop.  I went for a walk, came home, and whisked together my favorite sweet dessert - creme patissiere, straight.  No tart shell, no chocolate, no strawberries, just warm sweet pastry cream in my new little Weck pot, with my tiny spoon from Paris. 

Heavenly.

And this morning I figured out how to find the new pictures, wonder of wonders!  

creme patissiere (sweet pastry cream)


You will need a heavy-bottomed pot to make this, and a wooden spoon and a whisk.

1 cup milk
1 teaspoon good vanilla, or a scraped vanilla bean
1/4 cup sugar

3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Heat the milk in the saucepan on medium heat, adding the vanilla and the sugar and stirring constantly.  When sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from heat and set aside.

In a bowl or mixer bowl, place egg yolks and sugar and whip until the mixture is thick and a pale, pale yellow, then add the flour and whip a little longer.

Add half the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisk or stir quickly, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan, whisking all the while, and set the pan back on the heat. The mixture will become thick very quickly - make sure you continue to whisk or stir.  When it's thickened, take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and eat immediately:)

This recipe can be doubled with no problems.