How can I make pastry cream for a cake filling more a bit more firm/sturdy?
How can I make a pastry cream for a cake filling a bit more sturdy/firm. My recipe called for 5 egg yolks and 3 T. cornstarch, 1 1/2c. whole milk, 1/2c. whipping cream.
Best Answer
The egg yolks and cornstarch both serve as thickeners. Increasing the cornstarch is probably the most practical way to make that recipe firmer; try 5 tbsp as a start. (You could instead increase the amount of egg yolk; this will give you a more solid texture, rather than just a thicker one.)
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How do you make pastry cream firmer?
The cream is too liquid: in a separate bowl, mix a little bit of cornstarch (start with 1 tablespoon, it is usually enough) with a splash of milk then add it to the cream away from the heat. Whisk really well to combine, then place back on the stove and keep whisking until the cream thickens. Repeat if needed.How do you thicken pastry fillings?
Starch. Starch thickens pastry cream. Most recipes incorporate flour, cornstarch, or a mix of the two. I found that flour produced a thicker, heavier texture and imparted an undesirable \u201cfloury\u201d taste.Why is my pastry cream loose?
Second, pastry cream must be heated to a temperature high enough to destroy the amylase enzyme present in egg yolks, which would otherwise break down the starch and make the pastry cream runny. The takeaway: For pastry cream that will be thick, not soupy, once it cools, make sure to heat it sufficiently.How do you fix pastry cream that is too thin?
Pour a small amount of the cornstarch or flour slurry into the pastry cream. Whisk continuously for a minute and watch for thickening. Add another small amount if necessary and continue whisking until you see the first bubble or two in the surface of the filling.Pastry cream Diplomat How to Make // Pastry cream for Cake
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Answer 2
Honestly, I think Sneftel's answer is good, but if you're weird like me, here are other things you can do:
1) Bloom a package of gelatin and melt into the custard once you've removed it from the heat. Once it begins to thicken, fold the whipped cream in. This would be a hybrid between a pastry cream and Bavarian cream.
2) Butter is very firm when chilled. Allow a stick to soften to room temperature, and beat into your cooled custard a tablespoon or two at a time until you're comfortable, then fold in the whipped cream. This would be a hybrid of a German buttercream and pastry cream.
3) Depending on the amount of pastry cream you need, hold back a 1/2 cup of the milk. If that results in a mixture too thick to fold the cream into once chilled, you can pasteurize that 1/2 cup of milk (get it hot), and add just enough to finish making the pastry cream. Or add extra whipped cream.
4) If you really want to customize it, make a creme anglaise with the yolks and half the milk, then cook the starch (If you decide to increase the starch per Sneftel's answer, this is how I'd do it, because I'm weird) with the other half the milk. cook that until the starch has completely gelled. Mix the creme anglaise with the cooked starch in a new bowl until you're happy with the texture, then similarly fold in the cream until you're satisfied. If you know how much of everything you started with, you can then weigh what's left and put together recipe proportions for yourself based on the amounts you used.
5) The cheater way is to get some instant clearjel and beat that into the too-thin pastry cream. A little goes a long way, and it takes several minutes to fully hydrate and do its job. so add it slowly and give it a break to rest after each addition. The only problem is that I don't like the texture as much as if I had simply cooked more starch... but that might just be my problem.
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