Coconut Pastry Cream

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather a few simple ingredients. My eggs are farm-fresh, so the cream comes out a rich golden color. For a less sweet cream, you can cut the sugar to 100 g. To change the flavor, you can stir in any add-in you like: vanilla, cocoa, or shredded coconut.

2. Step 2:

   

   Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. You won't need the whites for this recipe — freeze them and use them in baking later (thawed first, of course). In a saucepan, combine the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and shredded coconut.

3. Step 3:

   

   Mix until fairly even — you'll get a crumbly texture; it won't be smooth yet. Pour the milk into another saucepan and heat it almost to a boil.

4. Step 4:

   

   Pour a little of the hot milk into the yolk mixture and whisk well to temper it. If you like, use a hand mixer to make sure no lumps remain.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pour in the rest of the milk and mix well. Set the saucepan over the heat. You can start on high to bring it to a boil, then lower it to medium-low and cook the cream. Don't step away for a second — whisk constantly. Cook it for about 5 minutes (that's what I did); it thickens right before your eyes. Keep in mind that the finished, chilled cream will be even thicker.

6. Step 6:

   

   Here's how thick my cream was right as I took it off the heat.

7. Step 7:

   

   As it cools, pastry cream tends to form a skin on top. To prevent that, press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream so it lies flush against it. Leave it that way until completely cool.

8. Step 8:

   

   Here's our finished butter-free pastry cream. It's very tasty, fragrant, thick, and firm. Use it to fill cream puffs, layer it between the sheets of a Napoleon cake, or simply serve it with fresh fruit and berries for dessert. As you can see, it's not hard to make at all. This amount of ingredients yields about 500 g of a wonderful treat.

9. Step 9:

   

   Enjoy, and good health to you!