Creme Patissiere

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cups milk
• ⅔ cup cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise and scraped out - keep the seeds and the pod separate
• 6 egg yolks
• 200 g caster sugar
• 5 tbsp flour (easier than weighing 42 g)

Method

Put the milk, cream and vanilla pod into a nice pot on a moderate heat.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar until thick and pale, then mix in the flour.

When the milk mixture boils, add a ladle or so of it – an unmeasured slosh is enough – to the egg mixture, and whisk well. Then mix the egg mixture back into the milk mixture, and bring back to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. The mixture will get clumpy, but then sort itself out into a thick custard. Stir all the time, and boil for 2 minutes. Fish out the vanilla pod, and throw it out, then put the crème pâtissière in a covered bowl in the fridge. Keeps for 2-3 days.