Pipe-able pastry cream

[Malawry]

I need to make a boatload of pastry cream that can be piped through a pastry bag this weekend. (I'm making 150 mini fresh fruit tartlets, and I need to be able to line them up and hit them quickly with the bag.) My regular formula is this:

Pastry Cream

2 cups milk

5oz sugar

6 egg yolks

2 ½ tbsp cornstarch

Vanilla

This makes a perfectly tasty cream, but it's too floppy to pipe. How should I make it thicker? More cornstarch? How much? Should I add sheet gelatin? Again, how much? (I don't know how strong my sheets are, they came in an unlabeled bag unfortunately, so make an educated guess.) I don't need the cream to hold any particular shape, I just want to be able to use the pastry bag to fill the tartlets quickly.

[McDuff]

1 qt milk

8 oz sugar

pinch salt

2.5 oz cornstarch

.5 oz bread flour

2 oz butter

1 egg

4 yolks

vanilla to taste

Make it the normal way the night before. It's plenty thick enough to pipe and very tasty.

[reenicake]

You can increase the butterfat by using cream or incorporating butter; add more cornstarch; or thicken by adding cocoa butter or white chocolate. Gelatin will soften when piped, from the warmth of your hand. HTH!

[Peter B Wolf]

Malawry, to quote you: "Should I add sheet gelatin? Again, how much? (I don't know how strong my sheets are, they came in an unlabeled bag unfortunately, so make an educated guess.) "

Like to suggest you read the following:

" Gelatin sheets vs. Powdered Gelatin

For every 4 sheets of gelatin you will use one 1/4 ounce packet of powdered unflavored gelatin. Like powdered gelatin you need to pre-soak (called blooming with powdered gelatin) the sheets in water for about 10 minutes until they are soft and pliable. Then they can be added to a warm mixture. Powdered gelatin needs to be gently melted (don't go over 150-degrees) and then added to your mixture. As for the difference in bronze/silver/gold all I can think of is if it is a difference in quality of gelatin or thickening power. That would be a question to ask the company selling the different kinds of gelatin. It's my experience that sheet gelatin is sheet gelatin and powdered is powdered and that is the only differences.

So basically if I would use an ounce of Knox, I need 1.2 oz of silver leaves ?????

Gelatine is available in sheets (leaf), powder or granules and in clear sheets or leaves. Generally speaking, 6 sheets of gelatine is the equivalent of 3 teaspoons of powdered gelatine ( a 10g sachet). This is enough to soft-set 480ml/16fl.oz. of liquid.

To dissolve powdered gelatine, sprinkle it into a small bowl or cup containing 3 tablespoons of warm water, stirring constantly, then place the bowl into a container of boiling water and stir constantly until completely dissolved and transparent. NEVER boil the gelatine mixture.

To prepare leaf gelatine, soak it in cold water for 4-5 minutes, allowing it to swell. Remove the swollen leaf gelatine from the water and gently squeeze it out. When using in warm dishes add the squeezed out gelatine directly into the warm liquid and stir until it has completely dissolved. NEVER add gelatine to boiling liquids as this impairs its setting qualities. "

[Malawry]

Thanks, Peter. I do know how to bloom and use sheet gelatin--I just don't know how much to add to the recipe.

[pastrymama]

When I use gelatin to stabilize whipped cream I use 3 sheets of bronze gelatin for each quart of cream Since the pastry cream is heavier I might add another sheet . This might give you a starting point.