pastry cream I

notes

• add milk, while cream is still warm, to lighten it if it becomes too thick
• use cow’s milk instead of formula milk?
• increase amount of milk used to 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups
• seems to be slightly too starchy due to the amount of corn starch added (2 1/2 tbsp)

in future

• consider using less eggs per batch, 2 instead of 3
• try not using corn starch? or use less of it, about 1 tablespoon should do
• lighten pastry cream with whipped heavy cream

cream and friends

pastry cream (rather like a custard) has to be flavoured with pairings that are strong in flavour (chocolate, coffee?) and/or heavy in volume (fruits), or use a flavour that enhances the original custardly taste (ie. liquour)

adding a bit of whipped cream made from heavy cream should lighten the pastry cream and make it less voluminous.

consequently, lighter creams go well with softer flavours, often more tangy, light, and refreshing (citrus, tea, herbs/flowers)

perhaps,

the weight (physical and taste) of the flavouring has to match that of the cream base

cream puffs I

notes

• egg wash glaze doesn’t really help to “seal” in the top of the puffs to let them rise more
• smaller puffs will end up rising less no matter what. should make bigger puffs (larger than 20 cent size)
• cooking timings for small cream puffs: 15 minutes on 220°C, 5 – 10 minutes on 180°C. Don’t overbake and let it chao tah

in future

• try to use less eggs? 3 eggs for full batch instead of 4 eggs
• maybe decrease butter content slightly to 100g instead of 114g