Italian Pasticciotto with Cream

A golden, crumbly shortcrust pastry filled with smooth pastry cream. When sliced, the cream should be firm yet melting, with a lemon scent balancing the rich butter.

• Prep time: 40 min
• Cook time: 25 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 573
• Protein: 11 g
• Carbs: 77 g
• Fat: 24 g

Ingredients

• 166.7 g Wheat flour ( sifted )
• 83.3 g Minimum butter sweet ( cold, diced )
• 133.3 g White sugar ( divided in two parts )
• 2.7 piece Egg ( 1 whole for dough, 3 yolks for cream )
• 333.3 ml Whole milk
• 26.7 g Corn starch
• 0.7 piece Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. ( for zest )
• 10 g Icing sugar ( for dusting )

Instructions

1. Shortcrust pastry preparation

   In a mixing bowl, rub the flour with the cold diced butter using your fingertips. Add the sugar and egg. Work quickly until a homogeneous ball forms. Wrap and chill for 1 hour to let the gluten relax.

2. Cooking the pastry cream

   Heat the milk with the lemon zest. In a saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and cornstarch. Pour in the hot milk in a thin stream while stirring. Cook over low heat: the cream should thicken and heavily coat the spoon. Let cool completely.

3. Assembling the pastries

   Roll out the dough to 3mm. Line individual molds. Fill generously with cold cream. Cover with a dough disk and seal the edges by pressing firmly. The surface should be domed.

4. Baking, browning and finishing

   Bake at 200°C. The crust should become golden brown, almost dark on the edges. When removed, the pastry should be crispy to the touch. Wait until completely cool before unmolding and dusting with icing sugar.

Chef's tips

• Do not overwork the dough, otherwise it loses its crumbliness and becomes elastic.
• The cream must be perfectly cold before assembly to avoid sogging the pastry.

Storage

Keep for 48h in the fridge. Reheat for 5 minutes in a warm oven to regain the crust's crispness.