Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Mousseline Cream, Fancier Than Pastry Cream

Crème mousseline, mousseline cream – now I’m eating this and I’m loving it!

What cream do you use for your cream puffs? Pastry cream or whipped cream? Now here goes an alternative for your cute little puffs: mousseline cream. It’s much more gourmet, glorified pastry cream which is used for desserts at better restaurants and cafes in Paris. Cream mousseline can be used for cream puffs, roll cakes, fraisier, mille-feuille, etc. In Paris when I buy a mille-feuille at a bakery, I expect pastry cream filling. When I order a mille-feuille at Cafe de la Paix, I expect cream mousseline filling with real vanilla bean. Mousseline cream is more for resaurants and there is a good reason. Unlike pastry cream cream mousseline is very delicate with uncooked butter in it. It should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed in 24 hours. And here goes how to make mousseline cream.




Today I’m using pure vanilla extract and I will explain in the note below how to use a real vanilla bean for mousseline cream. First, warm milk in the pan. Cream egg yolks and sugar. Then sift in flour and whisk to combine. Finally mix in vanilla and a pinch of salt.

To lighten up the egg yolk mixture, pour 1/4 of the warm milk into the bowl. The milk should be just warm, not hot. If the milk is boiling hot, then the egg yolk will be cooked. So be careful. Now stir in the cream mixture into the warm milk. And whisking constantly and thoroughly, bring into a boil. Whisking is very important to make homogeneous cream without lumps. The cornstarch
will be cooked first, then flour. So patiently and rigorously whisk until the cream thickens.

Out of heat, add in half of the butter and combine. Then transfer to a heat-proof bowl and let cool. When it’s cooled to room temperature, whisk in softened butter until smooth.

Need some delicious filling for your cream puffs, donuts, cake, etc?  Here goes French “mousseline cream.” Enjoy!

Ingredients
  • 2 cups milk (480ml)
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (80g)
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour (30g)
  • ¼ cup cornstarch (30g)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter (75g)
  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened (75g)


Instructions

  1. In a thick bottom sauce pan warm 2 cups of milk over low heat.
  2. In a bowl cream egg yolks and granulated sugar. Sift in all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Whisk until smooth. Finally stir in vanilla and a pinch of salt.
  3. Pour only ¼ of warm milk into (2) and whisk to combine. Then pour the cream in the pan of the warm milk.
  4. Over medium heat bring it to a boil whisking constantly. When it starts to boil, whisk continually until the cream thickens.
  5. Out of heat stir in ⅓ cup of unsalted butter. Mix until combined. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and let cool.
  6. Meanwhile cream ⅓ cup of softened butter. When the cream is cooled to room temperature, add in the butter. Whisk until smooth.

Notes
If you want to use a vanilla bean, with a sharp knife, split the bean in half lengthwise. Use the tip of the knife to scrape as many of the seeds as possible from the pod. And add the beans in the milk (1).