2401—Pastry Cream

Mix one lb. of powdered sugar with four oz. of flour and twelve egg-yolks, and dilute with one quart of boiling milk. Cook this cream, stirring it continually the while; and, as soon as it boils, add to it a few drops of orange-flower water and four gelatine leaves, softened in cold water. Boil the cream a few minutes; take it off the fire, and, while stirring it briskly, carefully combine with it twelve egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.

N.B.—Some operators call this St. Honoré cream (for, as a matter of fact, it serves chiefly in the garnishing of sweets bearing that name), and give the name of Pastry cream to the same preparation minus the egg-whites and the gelatine. I prefer to abide by the principle given above, and to consider the cream without whisked egg-whites merely as a Frangipan, with which it has many points in common.

Pastry cream may be flavoured according to fancy. The addition of the gelatine is not necessary when the cream is to be served immediately, or when it only has a moment or two to wait. But it is indispensable to prevent the decomposition of the preparation, especially in hot weather, if it have to wait at all.