Crisp, golden puff pastry tubes filled with swirls of silky homemade pastry cream — the café pastry you can absolutely make in your own kitchen. The cream itself is a keeper for tarts, puffs, and layer cakes.
Ingredients
1 sheet of puff pastry, cut into strips and baked as tubes (or ready-made pastry tubes/cannoli shells); icing sugar for dusting. For the pastry cream: 500 ml whole milk; 4 egg yolks; 100 g sugar; 40 g cornflour; 1 tsp vanilla essence; the peel of ½ lemon (optional); 20 g butter (optional, for extra silkiness).
Method
For the cream, heat the milk with the vanilla and the lemon peel, if using, until very hot but not boiling, then remove the peel. Whisk the yolks with the sugar until smooth, mix in the cornflour thoroughly, then pour the hot milk over the yolks gradually, whisking constantly so the eggs do not scramble. Return everything to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring without stopping, until the cream thickens into a smooth, consistent custard. Off the heat, stir in the butter until melted for a glossier finish. Transfer to a clean bowl, press cling film directly onto the surface so no skin forms, cool, then refrigerate until cold. Before filling, whisk the cream gently to restore its smoothness. Pipe the cream generously into the crisp pastry tubes from both ends, dust with icing sugar, and serve soon after filling so the pastry stays crisp.
Tips
Mix the cornflour well with the yolks before adding milk to avoid lumps; constant stirring stops the cream catching on the base of the pan; flavour it your way with cinnamon, real vanilla, or orange zest; store the cream airtight in the fridge and use within 2–3 days; fill the tubes at the last moment for maximum crunch.
