Bignè alla Crema Pasticcera (Italian Choux Buns with Custard)

Crema pasticcera

• 500 ml Whole milk
• 120 g Caster sugar
• 40 g Cornflour
• 1 pinch Fine sea salt
• 4 Egg
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract

Choux pastry

• 125 ml Whole milk
• 80 g Unsalted butter
• 1 pinch Fine sea salt
• 90 g Plain flour
• 3 Egg

1. Start the crema pasticcera. Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming and just starting to bubble at the edges, then take off the heat.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornflour and salt, then whisk in the eggs until smooth and pale. Slowly whisk in the hot milk a little at a time to temper the eggs.
3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy and the whisk leaves clear trails. Cook for 1 minute more, then take off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
4. Tip the custard into a clean bowl and press a piece of baking paper directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming. Cool to room temperature, then chill until fully cold and thick.
5. Heat the oven to 200°C (390°F) and set a baking tray in the middle of the oven to preheat. Fit a piping bag with a plain nozzle, or snip a 1.5 cm opening if you do not have one.
6. Make the choux pastry. Put the milk, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a brisk simmer, stirring until the butter melts.
7. Take the pan off the heat and add the flour all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms, then return to medium heat and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until a thin film forms on the base of the pan and the dough looks slightly glossy.
8. Tip the dough into a mixing bowl and leave for 5 minutes so it is warm rather than hot. Beat in the eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth, shiny and falls from the spoon in a thick V shape.
9. Spoon the choux into the piping bag and pipe 12 mounds onto the hot baking tray, spacing them well apart. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until well risen, deep golden and crisp, without opening the oven door.
10. Turn the oven down to 170°C (340°F), quickly pierce the side of each bun with the tip of a knife to let steam escape, then return to the oven for 8 minutes to dry out. Cool completely on the tray.
11. Whisk the chilled crema pasticcera until smooth, then spoon it into a piping bag. Split the buns or pipe into the steam hole, filling each until it feels heavy but still light, then serve straight away.

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