Basque Pastry Cream
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 extra-large egg yolks
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons dark rum
2 teaspoons Armagnac
1 teaspoon orange-flower water
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Preparation
Step 1
In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, bring the milk to a boil, and then turn off the heat. Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl, and then whisk in the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and is a pale yellow color. Whisk in the hot milk a few tablespoons at a time, progressing to a slow steady stream. Return the mixture to the stove, and cook over medium heat, whisking until thickened.
Step 2
Strain into a baking dish or bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard to keep it from forming a skin. Poke a few holes in the plastic to let the heat escape. Cool it in the refrigerator. When the pastry cream has cooled, stir in the rum, Armagnac, orange-flower water, and almond extract.
Sunday Suppers at Lucques
[by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber. Copyright © 2005 by Suzanne Goin. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved..
Suzanne Goin graduated from Brown University. She was named Best Creative Chef by Boston magazine in 1994, one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine in 1999, and was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She and her business partner, Caroline Styne, also run the restaurant A.O.C. in Los Angeles, where Goin lives with her husband, David Lentz.
Teri Gelber is a food writer and public-radio producer living in Los Angeles.
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