Crème Mousseline

Before starting this Crème Mousseline recipe, organise the ingredients to make crème pâtissière.

Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise...

... and place in a saucepan, together with the milk. Bring to a boil.

In a mixing bowl, tip the whole eggs and egg yolks.

Add the castor sugar and combine with a whisk.

Blanch the preparation.

... beating vigorously with a whisk. The preparation should be pale and fluffy.

Add the sifted flour (or crème pâtissière powder).

Combine well.

When the milk starts boiling...

... pour on top of the blanched eggs.

Combine well.

Transfer the preparation into the saucepan used to boil the milk...

... and cook over medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Make sure that the cream does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

The crème pâtissière is ready when it has a thick consistency.

Transfer into a cold recipient.

To prevent the formation of a crust, cover the surface of the cream with cling film.

Alternatively, you can sprinkle the surface with small knobs of butter.

For the crème mousseline: For crème mousseline you need to add softened butter to crème pâtissière. Place the cold pastry cream in the food mixer recipient. With a base of 250 grams of butter, you need to weigh 500 grams of cold pastry cream. The butter will always be half of the quantity of crème pâtissière.

Whish the pastry cream until homogeneous.

Add the softened butter with a spoon...

... and whisk until completely incorporated. The cream and butter should be at room temperature to ensure perfect results.

The crème mousseline is ready to be use at this stage. A crème mousseline with intense notes of vanilla is a key component of the classic Fraisier cake. I recommend adding a dash of amber rum and/or a few drops of strawberry flavour for a unique taste.