Peach Pastry Cream
Luscious, silky, and irresistibly delicious, pastry cream by itself is divine but when paired with Texas peach preserves, you get a pastry cream that is downright heavenly. I will be using this pastry cream in a peach cookie recipe coming on Thursday, but you can also use this as a filling for cakes, cupcakes, or tarts. It can also be enjoyed by the spoonful straight out of the bowl.
Texas peach season has just begun and boy, is it a good one! I love Texas peaches and supporting local farmers, and this year’s bounty is exceptionally sweet. Fredericksburg is known for having some of the best peaches Texas has to offer and there are many farm stands to choose from. My top picks in Fredericksburg are:
Fredericksburg Farmers Market-a market focused on local farmers and producers only. It’s a great market to visit. Thursdays 4-7 at Marktplatz.
The minute I tried the peaches I bought from Lydell’s, I knew I had to make a cookie that would properly highlight the beauty of Texas peaches. I wanted to be able to build the flavor of the peach throughout the cookie. I am going to take a fun spin on a peaches and cream theme and thought a peach pastry cream would work as a great start.
Pastry cream is very simple to make and requires basic ingredients. You can add peach preserves to the pastry cream as I have done or you can keep them separated if you want to keep the pastry cream thick.
What you need:
-Whole milk-you need a higher fat milk for pastry cream.
-Sugar
-Egg yolks
-Cornstarch-to thicken the pastry cream
-Flour-also used to help thicken the pastry cream
-Salt
-Vanilla Extract
-Vanilla Bean paste-this is optional. I added this because I had some in my baking kit and it goes well with peaches.
-Butter-this is added at the end gives a wonderful silky texture to the pastry cream.
Here’s What You Do:
Pour 2 cups of whole milk into a saucepan and turn heat on medium high. You want the milk to be very hot and have bubbles form on the side of the pan. While the milk is heating up, I get my egg yolk mixture ready.
I start by separating the yolks and whites. I save the whites for breakfast spinach omelets for my kiddos later in the week. I add the sugar and whisk for a few minutes until it starts to turn pale. I want to make sure they are very well mixed before adding the dry ingredients.
Next, I add in the flour and cornstarch and whisk vigorously for a few minutes. Then I add in the vanilla and vanilla bean paste. You want to make sure this mixture is nice and smooth because we will be adding scalding hot milk in the next step.
I am using both flour and cornstarch because I want this pastry cream to be very thick. I will be mixing in peach preserves which will loosen up the cream substantially, so I need it to be very firm prior to adding the peaches. Also, it is very humid in Texas and I have had troubles in the past with using just cornstarch to thicken pastry cream. This version of pastry cream will guarantee that you will have thick pastry cream that isn’t the slightest bit runny.
When your milk is hot, add it very slowly to the egg mixture whisking vigorously the entire time you are drizzling the milk in. This will help your egg yolks temper and not cook. I add the whole pan of milk into the egg mixture and whisk.
After the milk is added, I take an extra step to wash out the sauce pan the milk was heating up in. I do this to remove any stuck bits of milk on the bottom of the pan. I don’t want any milk lumps in the pastry cream, and I also want it to heat up evenly. This extra step helps the pastry cream stay nice and smooth.
Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the clean pan. Turn the stove to medium and whisk the entire time it is heating up. Do not stop whisking while the milk is starting to bubble and thicken. When it starts getting thick, whisk vigorously and cook for a minute or two until the custard is very thick. This happens quickly and whisking continuously will prevent any lumps from forming.
Take off stove and turn off heat. Add in your butter one tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk until melted. You will notice the pastry cream get shiny and silky after the butter is added.
Place in a glass container and cover the surface of pastry cream with plastic wrap. This prevents a skin from forming on the top layer of the cream. Store in fridge for up to a week.
You can use the pastry cream as is for stuffing cookies, cakes, cupcakes, or tarts. I will be mixing it with Texas Peach preserves to make a peach pastry cream.
What you need:
½ pound peaches, pitted and chopped
2/3 cup sugar
½ lemon
Place chopped peaches, sugar, and the juice of half a lemon in a saucepan. Heat on medium until the fruit is thick and bubbly. This took about 15 minutes for me.
Let peach preserves cool for an hour then add to a blender. I want texture to the preserves but not too many larger chunks of peach since we are piping this on top of a cookie.
After the preserves are blended add to the cooled pastry cream. The pastry cream will be thick so take your time mixing it in. Adding the peach preserves will loosen up the pastry cream to a more spreadable consistency. It will firm up in the fridge overnight but not be nearly as thick, so if you want a firm sliceable cream, I suggest keeping the peach preserves separate and you can layer on top of the pastry cream for a similar effect. Mix well and store in the fridge for up to a week with a layer of plastic wrap on the surface to keep a skin from forming.
I will be using this peach pastry cream in our featured cookie of the week: Texas Peach Crème Brulee cookie. A toasted almond cookie made with browned butter as a base, peach pastry cream piped on top, thinly sliced fresh Texas peaches, with a generous dusting of sugar that will be torched until it is a nice crispy golden brown. You don’t want to miss this!
If you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do, please follow and tag me @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram. I post new cookie recipes every Thursday and would love to share my joy with you. Happy Baking!
Peach Pastry Cream
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tspn vanilla extract
- 1 tspn vanilla bean paste optional
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp flour
- 4 tbsp butter
- sprinkle salt
Peach Preserves
- ½ pound peaches, pitted and chopped I recommend using fresh local peaches for best flavor. You can use frozen peaches as well, cooking time will be longer.
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ lemon juice
Instructions
- Place 2 cups of milk in saucepan over medium heat.
- In large bowl, separate egg yolks from whites.
- Add sugar to yolks and whisk until yolks are creamy and pale 2-3 minutes.
- Add sprinkle of salt, vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. Whisk into egg mixture.
- Whisk in cornstarch and flour until fully incorporated.
- When the milk is very hot and has small bubbles forming on the sides of the pan, take off heat and very slowly whisk into the egg mixture. You want a very thin stream of hot milk pouring into the egg mixture so you temper your eggs.
- Slowly add in all of the hot milk to the bowl while whisking.
- Wash pan the milk was heated in and pour the milk egg mixture back into the clean pan.
- On medium heat, whisk milk mixture continuously until it is thickened and bubbling. Don't stop mixing to avoid lumps.
- When it it starts to thicken take off heat and continue to mix.
- Add in the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing completely after each addition.
- Pastry cream can be used as is or mixed with recipe for peach preserves below for a peach pastry cream.
Peach Preserves
- Place chopped peaches, sugar and lemon juice in sauce pan over medium heat.
- Cook until peaches are soft and the liquid from the sugar and peaches is a thick syrup. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Cool preserves for at least an hour before adding to pastry cream. You can blend them before cooling for a smoother consistency in the pastry cream.
Notes
