SLC21W3 // Making Cake Filling

Hello dear Chefs! Sending greetings to you. I am very delighted to participate in this week's learning challenge.

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Have you ever prepared cream to fill your cakes at home? Tell us about your experience.

I have never prepared pastry cream before. This is my first time trying this. I am quite new to pastry, but I really enjoyed preparing the cream. Making this cream boosted my self-confidence in pastry.

Prepare the pastry cream (detail ingredients and step by step) and indicate whether you followed the recipe we provided or prepared your traditional recipe for pie filling.

I prepared the cream by following the recipe provided in this week's course.

INGREDIENTS AND UTENSILS

• 50 g of Cornstarch
• 115g of Sugar
• 400ml of milk
• Two egg yolks
• 1cc of butter
• 1cc of vanilla essence
• 1 Lemon peel
• Measuring cup
• Wooden spatula
• Plastic spatula

Ingredients and Utensils

PROCEDURE

I poured half of the milk (200ml) to a bowl and added one table spoon of vanilla essence and a lemon peel. Then, I let it infuse.

Then I added cornstarch to the remaining milk and stirred properly in a bowl.

I added the two egg yolks and sugar to a pot and whisked till it was homogenous.

Then, I added the mixture of Cornstarch and milk to the pot containing egg and sugar mixture and stirred.

I went on to add the mixture of milk and vanilla essence ; I removed the lemon peel and stirred.

I added butter to it and cooked over low heat. I made sure that I stirred it continuously until I got a creamy texture.

Pastry cream is ready

What was the most difficult thing for you when preparing the filling?

As a newbie in pastry, I did not have a whisk so I had to improvise a spatula to mix the ingredients. This posed a great challenge in mixing. I had to stir longer than it would have taken if a whisk was used. It made stirring tiresome. Thankfully, I was able to pull through. Though I hope to purchase a whisk as soon as possible.

What additional ingredients do you think can be added to the pastry cream to give it a special touch?

The taste of the pastry cream can be enhanced by adding flavours like strawberry, mango, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream essence, banana, chocolate, caramel and honey. It all goes down to individuals ' preference and what the cream is used for.

Pastry cream is best enjoyed with flavours that are delightful especially to the taste buds. Doing this would make one to enjoy the pastry cream.

Do you have any special tips for making custard? Share them.
When it comes to making custard, two things are involved. The intensity of heat and consistent stirring.

The intensity of heat is a very essential aspect. While making the custard, one should ensure that the heat is low. This is because when the heat is high, controlling the lumps would be taxing and it would affect the the smooth consistency of the cream. The cream could also easily get burnt in high heat.

Consistent stirring is very important to break lumps and ensure a smooth pastry cream. Stirring should be done until a smooth cream appears.

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Overall, I enjoyed making the pastry cream. This course has honed my culinary skills and I am very grateful to the teachers for organising such enlightening course.

I used a little of the pastry cream to fill in some biscuits. I have never tried this combination before. The taste was so nice and I really enjoyed it.

I am inviting my friends @leicorp1, @goodybest and @adylinah to participate.