16 Basics Basics 17

Crème d’amandealmond cream

150 g unsalted butter, softened »and diced

150 g icing sugar »

150 g almond meal »

2 tablespoons cornflour, sifted »

3 egg yolks »

2 drops Amaretto liqueur »

190 g pastry cream (see recipe »page 17), cold

Makes enough for one 25-cm tart.

Storage: Keep for 4–6 days in the fridge but do not freeze.

This is another very important cream for a pastry chef. Crème d’amande is used in a variety of French desserts but my fondest memory is of the galette des rois. This is a soft, puff pastry pie filled with crème d’amande which is served only in January and February in France during la Fête des Rois (the Festival of Kings), commemorating the epiphany. This cream is nice in any fruit tart such as apricot and pistachio tart (see recipe page 70).

In an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the butter, icing sugar, »almond meal and cornflour until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing well each time. Stop mixing to add the liqueur and pastry cream, then mix well to combine.

Crème pâtissièrePastry cream

½ vanilla bean »

400 ml full cream milk »

5 egg yolks »

100 g caster sugar »

50 g plain flour, sifted »

40 g unsalted butter, diced »

Makes about 500 g cream.

Tip: To check if the cream is cooked, just taste it. If it doesn’t taste like flour, it’s cooked.Storage: Refrigerate for 3 days only.

In 1691 François Massialot, the French royal chef, created crème pâtissière. Since then pastry cream can be found in a lot of French, filled desserts such as pain aux raisins, vanilla slice, fruit tart, éclairs, and sweet soufflés.This cream is probably the pastry chef’s best friend and the apprentice’s worst enemy. At Choux Café we make about four litres of crème patissière every second day. Stirring non-stop for 15 minutes on the stove, my apprentice has developed one arm bigger than the other.

Using a sharp knife slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape »out the seeds with the back of the knife.

Put the milk and vanilla, including the bean shell, in a deep »saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl (or electric mixer), whisk the yolks and the sugar until the mixture is fluffy and pale, forming thick ribbons when drizzled from the whisk. Add the flour and mix well. Stir the hot milk into the egg mixture and mix well again.

Strain the cream mixture back into the saucepan, discarding the »vanilla bean shell and any lumps. Cook it for about 8 minutes over medium-high heat, whisking continuously to prevent the mixture sticking to the pot. Transfer to a mixing bowl, slowly add the butter and set aside to cool. Cover the surface of the cream with a layer of plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming.

CHOUX2.indd 16-17 22/1/09 11:29:41 AM