Confectioner's Custard (Crema Pasticcera)

This recipe comes from the Italy's most beloved cookbook, The Silver Spoon, in print in Italy since 1950 under the name Il cucchiaio d'argento. Mangia bene!

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• A few drops of vailla extract or 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

METHOD

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar in a pan until pale and fluffy. Gradually stir in the flour until evenly mixed. Bring the milk just to boiling point in another pan and add the vanilla or lemon rind, then remove from the heat. Gradually add the hot milk to the egg yolk mixture then cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 t- 4 minutes until thickened. Pour the custard into a bowl and let cool, stirring aoccasionally to prevent a skin from forming. This custard is used for filling a wide variety of pastries and cakes. The flour makes it thicker but a little less delicate than plain custard.

Serves 4

Recipes extracted from The Silver Spoon, £24.95 / €39.95 / $39.95, 2005, published by Phaidon Press Ltd www.phaidon.com/silverspoon

click for book review of The Silver Spoon

please also read : the essentials of Italian Cooking & The Silver Spoon The Making of the Italian Classic Cookbook

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