Creme patissiere – couple of questions

[piracer]

So I would like to make some creme patissiere to fill in a strawberry tart (thats the weekend plan anyway), but i was thinking if i can make it ahead and freeze it, why not right? So, can i freeze creme patissiere and whats the best way to bring it back to life?

Also ive read that using corn flour instead of AP flour produces a more 'bouncy' gelatinous creme patissiere that is used more for tart fillings as opposed to being used for a compound creme patissiere. Is this true? And if thats the case, would you substitute it with a 1:1 ratio of corn flour to AP flour?

If im not wrong, corn flour is also gluten free right?

thanks

[Edward J]

It doesn't freeze well and will weep when thawed. It will, however keep for at least 3-4 days in the fridge and takes maybe 10 mins tops to prepare.

[pastrygirl]

Edward, is corn starch more likely to weep than flour? I use flour and sometimes freeze and thaw for cream puff filling, haven't had trouble. That is why I prefer flour, it seems more stable over time.

Piracer, corn starch/flour should be gluten free but may have been processed on shared equipment. Corn starch has twice the thickening power by volume as AP flour, so if you were using 2 TB of AP flour you should need only 1 of corn flour. Not sure how it compares by weight.

[dejaq]

Edward J ia right PC can't be frozen, the condition is called "Syneresis", that will lead to cracking, and liquid separation of the solids, a curd, for example a lemon curd, typically has a higher fat content (butter) and actually freezer extraordinarily well,I use cornstarch, some people like that European "hot process" starch, with a splash of Annatto in it, if you would like I have a video I can post "on how to make a perfect pastry cream" from Eye Candy, it shows you exactly how it's done, just let me know.

Michael Robert Porru

[Edward J]

Corn flour will weep more readily, but I have found 2 tricks to stop it from doing so.

I sub 10-20% of the milk with 33% cream or 20-25% of 10% coffee cream. The higher fat content tends to keep it from weeping.

When the mixture has thickened, I let it boil for a good 45 secs-1 min longer. From what I understand, the cornstarch is fully dissolved after this.

[piracer]

So i made the cream yesterday:

250g milk

100g sugar

2 yolks

40g AP flour

So i decided to substitute the AP flour for 25g cornflour instead. The cream did firm up quite nicely but i noticed a slight grainy texture which i feel was from the AP flour - my cream could have been slightly overcooked though. But if thats the case, doesn't 40g of AP flour seem too much? And why wouldn't you just use cornflour when making pastry cream?