Name: Pastry Cream
Yield: Yields 2 cups
Ingredients: 2 cups whole milk; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 pinch salt; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1/4 cup cornstarch; 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other dessert classics, check out the videos.

Variations:

Chocolate Pudding: Stir 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks into the prepared hot pastry cream (end of Step 3). Banana Pudding: Stir 2 medium chopped bananas into the prepared cooled pastry cream (end of Step 4).

Recipe notes

Île Flottante

Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.

Dulce de Leche

Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Palets Bretons

Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Fluffier, fresher, and fancier than anything from a tub or can.

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Yes, it's a shortcut in a microwave. It's also a gooey, fudgy, wildly good chocolate cake.

Chocolate Pie

Reminiscent of a classic diner dessert, this chocolate cream pie offers pure comfort in a cookie crust.

Fufu

Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.