How to Make “Just a Tart” (Part 2)
This is a recipe for a simple pastry cream, a typical fruit tart filling. It’s lightly sweetened, complementing rather than over-masking the fruit. It’s creamy yet also stiff enough to hold it’s shape when the fruit tart is cut into. This recipe makes just enough pastry cream to fill two 9” tart shells.
Pastry Cream (from “The New Best Recipe” by America’s Test Kitchen)
Ingredients
2 cups half-and-half
6 tablespoons of sugar plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1. Heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
2. As the half-and-half mixture is heating, whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.
3. When the half-and-half reaches a full simmer, gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of the simmering half-and-half into the yolk mixture. Stir well to temper the yolk mixture.
4. Add the tempered yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the rest of the half-and-half, whisking vigorously. Bring the cream quickly back to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds.
5. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cold butter, one piece at a time, and the vanilla.
6. Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer to get a smooth texture. Use a rubber spatula to push the cream into a bowl under the strainer. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate the pastry cream until cold and set, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.
7. Fill a tart shell with the cooled pastry cream. Place thinly sliced fruit on top of the cream in concentric circles.
TIP: Keep an eye on the simmering half-and-half while working on the egg yolk mixture, making sure that the half-and-half doesn’t over-boil. Don’t turn on the heat too high and stir the half-and-half occasionally to prevent this from happening.
Definitions
Simmer - To cook liquid at a temperature just below the boiling point, until tiny bubbles just begin to break beneath the surface around the edge of the pan.
Temper (eggs) - To gently heat egg yolks before adding them to a hot liquid by adding a small amount of the hot liquid to the eggs and then beating well. This prevents the eggs from curdling.
