Vanilla Pastry Cream

How to prepare vanilla pastry cream

1. In a pot, heat the milk with the sugar and the inside of the vanilla pod over low heat. Don't throw away the pod - put it in your bottle of vanilla extract 😉
   * I only had half a vanilla pod, so at the end I added more vanilla extract.
   ** If you don't have a vanilla pod, use vanilla extract, but don't add it now - add it at the end, otherwise the aroma will evaporate.
2. While the milk is heating, beat the egg yolks well with the cornstarch.
3. When the milk starts forming small bubbles on the edges, start adding hot milk to the egg yolks, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. About 10 tablespoons is enough.
4. Then pour the rest of the hot milk over the egg yolks in a thin stream, while continuously stirring the yolks with a whisk... so they don't turn into an omelet.
5. Put the egg and milk mixture back in the pot and return to heat. You can increase the heat to medium now, but don't forget to stir the cream non-stop with the whisk. At some point you'll feel the cream thickening, becoming viscous. Quickly lower the heat and continue stirring until the cream has the consistency of mayonnaise. It doesn't take long, about 15-30 seconds.
7. Quickly remove the pot from heat and place its bottom in a bowl of cold water (prepared beforehand). Now add the vanilla extract if you opted for this option. Even if you used a vanilla pod, taste the cream and add vanilla extract until it's "vanilla-y" enough for your taste. Continue stirring with the whisk until the cream cools down, about 2-3 minutes is enough.
   * The level of "vanilla-ness" depends a lot on the quality of the vanilla pod or extract, so it's safer to taste the cream at the end and add according to your own taste.
   ** I added 2 more teaspoons of my homemade extract because half a vanilla pod wasn't enough.
8. Pour the cream, which is still warm, into a container and cover with plastic wrap, but make sure the wrap comes in direct contact with the cream. We do this to prevent a crust from forming on top.
9. Store in the refrigerator until you use it.

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