Very Berry Cream Tart
I first learned how easy it was to make pastry cream from my sister (The Chef) two Thanksgivings ago. She made choux cream puffs which is a little more involved than just filling a graham cracker pie crust with pastry cream and piling berries on top.
However, this wouldn’t be special if I didn’t add my own twist to it, which was that I replaced 1/2 a cup of milk with half and half… the result is a richer, more decadent pastry cream that almost borders on creme brulee (which I LOVE.) I also broke out my expensive vanilla extract I got from William and Sonoma when we went to Albany for an Aikido seminar.
As I’m typing this, my husband has eaten about half the pie, an hour after it was made. It’s the perfect quick project as we are snowed in for the day.
My ducks have stopped laying for the season (as the days grow short) so I used chicken eggs but I think next year, when they start producing again, a pastry cream made from duck eggs would be even better (if that were possible…)!
Recipe for the Pastry Cream
- 4 large egg yolks (or 3 duck egg yolks)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (don’t skimp! Use really good vanilla extract, the bean, or vanilla paste. It makes a difference.)
For the Pie
- Premade Crust
- 2 cups mixed Berries
1. Pour 1/2 cup half and half, 1 and a half cups whole milk, and vanilla extract into a saucepan and heat on medium.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk corn starch, sugar, and egg together until well combined and smooth. I used an electric mixer.
3. Once the milk has started steaming (but not boiling!), temper the egg yolk mixture by adding a little bit of the hot milk at a time while whisking quickly until fully combined. If the milk boiled, the heat might curdle the egg, rendering it inedible.
4. Strain the mixture through a wire mesh strainer and return it to the saucepan on medium high. Continue to whisk until the pastry cream has thickened.
5. Pour into pie crust, covered with plastic wrap (I use wax paper because I’m removing plastic from our lives) and refrigerate for an hour. Once cooled, top with berries and enjoy!