Pastry Cream

Method

1. Take an untreated lemon and use a peeler to remove the peel in a long strip, avoiding the white pith.
2. In a bowl, place the egg yolks and lightly break them with a whisk.
3. Add half of the sugar and start mixing with the whisk.
4. Add a little of the milk (taken from the total amount) and mix well.
5. Add a little more milk to make it more liquid, then add the sifted starches and mix until smooth and homogeneous.
6. In a saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the other half of the sugar, the lemon peel (and if using vanilla seeds, add them now). Bring to a boil.
7. When the milk is boiling (high heat), add the egg mixture and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. As soon as it starts to thicken, remove the lemon peel. (The cream will look lumpy at first but will become smooth.)
8. Turn off the heat when the cream reaches the desired consistency.
9. Add a knob of butter and, off the heat, stir vigorously for about 5 minutes to refine the cream until smooth and lump-free.
10. Add the vanilla extract (or if using vanilla seeds, they should have been added to the milk at the beginning). Stir.
11. Pour the cream into a flat wide pan, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface (to prevent a skin forming), and refrigerate to cool for at least a while.
12. When the cream is cold, break it up with a wooden spoon, add a little milk if needed to adjust consistency, and whisk until smooth and creamy.