How to make vanilla pastry cream

Great for cream puffs, éclairs, fruit tarts, layer cakes and lots more.

I love the way the contestants on The Great British Bake-Off whip up "crème pat" for just about every other challenge. They do it almost automatically and I like that — it's a workmanlike way of going about making what's really a workhorse in the kitchen. Pastry cream — crème pâtissière — is the go-to filling for cream puffs, êclairs, fruit tarts, beignets (aka doughnuts) and all-American layer cakes (think Boston Cream Pie). Essentially, it's a pudding, an egg custard thickened with cornstarch. I'm giving you a recipe for a vanilla cream, but the flavoring is easily varied.