Custards are liquids set with egg. Two are the backbone of the pastry kitchen.
Key idea
Crème anglaise (vanilla custard sauce): milk (and often cream) heated with vanilla, whisked slowly into yolks and sugar, then stirred over gentle heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (nappe), about 170°F to 180°F; strained and chilled. It must not boil. Pastry cream (crème pâtissière): the same base with cornstarch or flour added; it must be brought to a boil and whisked for about a minute, so the starch thickens fully; finished with butter and chilled.
- Temper: whisk a little hot milk into the yolks first, then return everything to the pan.
- Anglaise: stir constantly with a spatula; a finger drawn across the coated spoon leaves a clean line.
- Pastry cream: whisk hard as it boils; it will be very thick.
- Chill both quickly in a shallow container with plastic wrap pressed on the surface, by the two-stage cooling rule.
Why it works
Without starch, yolks thicken a sauce gently and then curdle if heated much past about 180°F. Starch protects the eggs from curdling, which is why pastry cream can and must boil.
Worked example: Boil or not?
A custard made with milk, yolks, sugar and cornstarch.
- Starch is present: it must reach a boil to thicken fully.
Answer: Bring it to a boil (it's pastry cream).
Common mistake
Pulling pastry cream off the heat before it boils. It looks thick, then thins out in the refrigerator.
Practice at home
- Make a crème anglaise with a thermometer and note the temperature when it coats the spoon.
- Make pastry cream and fill the choux puffs from the last lesson.
In Meal Prep
- Peach Melba: Escoffier's dessert from the Savoy
- Baked Alaska: a classic from Delmonico's