Pastry Cream Recipe | Serious Eats

1. In a 2-quart stainless steel saucier, combine milk and scraped vanilla bean along with its seeds. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover to prevent evaporation, and let steep for 30 minutes. 2. In a large bowl, set up an ice bath by partially filling it with a combination of cold water and ice. Set aside. 3. In a medium heatproof mixing bowl set on top of a dampened towel (this serves as a stable base), stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in egg yolks until mixture is pale yellow, smooth, and fluffy, about 1 minute. 4. Uncover infused milk and remove vanilla bean (see note). While whisking continuously, slowly pour milk into egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, until all of it has been added. 5. Return the mixture to the same saucier. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until pastry cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Once it thickens, continue to whisk, pausing every few seconds to check for bubbles, about 1 minute. When it begins to bubble, set a timer and continue whisking for 1 minute. This step is important to neutralize a starch-dissolving protein found in egg yolks. 6. Off-heat, whisk in butter until melted and thoroughly combined. Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof medium bowl. Immediately place plastic wrap or buttered parchment paper directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer bowl to prepared ice bath to chill for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. 7. When ready to use the pastry cream, whisk until smooth.