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Danish Pastry Filling
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Danish Pastry Filling

How to make vanilla bean custard for Danish pastry filling
Prep Time15 minutes
Active Time25 minutes
Chilling Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Keyword: dessert
Yield: 3 cups

Materials

  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup sugar granulated
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp butter unsalted
  • 2 cups milk

Instructions

  • Place milk in a medium saucepan on low-medium heat.
  • Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Remove the vanilla beans and place them in the milk. Place the whole vanilla bean in the milk.
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  • Let the milk just come to a simmer, not boiling. Turn off the heat source and remove the milk from the heat. Let the vanilla bean infuse flavor for 15 minutes.
  • In the meantime, separate your eggs. Place the egg yolks in a large heat proof bowl.
  • Add sugar and cornstarch and mix together with a whisk.
  • Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan. Slowly temper the eggs by adding a couple of tablespoons of the milk to the eggs at a time and vigorously whisking it until fully emulsified.
  • Continue adding the milk very slowly until fully combined. You do not want to cook the eggs.
  • Strain the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on medium heat.
  • Whisk the mixture frequently. Heat the mixture until the cornstarch has activated. It should be a few minutes. You will feel the mixture becoming thickened with your whisk.
  • Cook for 1 more minute after it has started to thicken.
  • Remove the custard from the heat and add butter. Whisk butter into the custard until it's fully melted. If you want to add any more vanilla flavor, you can add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract.
  • Let the custard cool to room temperature. Then place plastic cling wrap on top of the custard to prevent a film from forming.
  • Chill the custard for 2 hours before using.