Australian Gourmet Traveller – September 2019

A

classicpastrycreamis theperfectfillingforpastries,

traditionallyusedinmillefeuilleorchouxpastry,and

asthebaseforfruittarts.It canalsofillcakesand

doughnuts.Thepastrycreamcanbeflavouredat

differentstages,too.Fora chocolateversion, add200gmchopped

darkchocolateper5-litrebatchwhileit’sstillwarm.Tomake

a nut-basedpastrycream,suchashazelnut, addnutpasteto

yourcreamonceit’scookedbutstillwarm. Youcanalsoadd

a fruitpurée, suchasanapplepurée (seebelow).It makes

theperfectbasefora crisp, sweetpastryshellinfruittarts.

Orfora crèmechiboust,asseeninGâteauSaint-Honoré,

addmeringue,orfoldthroughwhippedcreamfora lighter

versioncalledcrèmeDiplomat.

Step bystep

Giveitatwist:GrannySmithapplepurée

Peelandcore 4 GrannySmithapples.Wrapapplesinfoilonanoventray,sealingtightly,andbake

at150°Cuntilverysoft(about 30 minutes).Removefromtheovenandleaveinthefoiltocoolbriefly

untilwarm.Gentlydrainanyexcesswaterandblendinafoodprocessorwith2gmxanthangumuntil

asmoothpurée(2minutes).Transfertotherefrigeratorandchill.Serveasthebaseforfruittarts.

1

Add100gmeggyolks(from

about 5 eggs),250gmsugar

and125mlmilktoabowlandwhisk

tocombine.Graduallyadd125gm

cornflour,whiskingtocombine.

Alternatively,processingredients

inafoodprocessoruntilcombined

andsmooth.

2

Bring1.25litresmilktotheboil

inasaucepanovermedium

heat.Carefullyandgraduallypour

overeggyolkmixture,whisking

quicklytocombine.

3

Transfermixturetoawide

saucepanoverhighheatand

whiskcontinuouslyuntilmixture

comestotheboil,thenwhiskuntil

thickandbubbling(3minutes).

4

Pourintoawidebakingdish,

coverdirectlywithplasticwrap

andrefrigerateuntilcoolandfirm

(6hoursorovernight).

5

Transferpastrycreamtoan

electricmixerandwhisk,or

whiskbyhand,untilmixtureis

smooth,thenserve.Ifaddingextra

flavour,suchastheGrannySmith

applepurèe(left),foldasmuchor

aslittleasyoulikethroughwitha

spatulaandrefrigeratefor 2 hours

toset.Youcanlightenthepastry

creambyfoldingthroughwhipped

cream,oraddsiftedicingsugar

forextrasweetness.

2

1

Toolkit

• Aballoonwhisk,suchasthe
  InoxibarwhiskfromTheEssential
  Ingredient($18.50),willhelpwhip
  upasmoothmixtureforthebase.


• Awidesaucepan,suchasthe
  Silampos“Nautilus”casserolefrom
  TheEssentialIngredient($153.95),
  isusefulformakingcreamsand
  custardsasitheatsthemixture
  evenly,whichhelpsstopcurdling.

3

5

GOURMET TRAVELLER 43

RECIPE NICOLAS POELAERT. PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING LISA FEATHERBY. MERCHANDISING HARRIET DAVIDSON.

Masterclass