Whenever you are in need of a quick sweet treat or snack for guests, there are many ways to make something at home. Cakes, cupcakes, or cookies – there is a lot that’s easy to prepare. If you like things particularly simple, you should try Vanilla Custard Pastries. Puff pastry dough from the supermarket is a quick and easy way to create something delicious!
We always try to make as much as possible from scratch – ready-made dough and other convenient products are (almost) never used in recipes. Well. I said almost never. Stuff like puff pastry dough or filo dough is the exception. These two doughs are quite complex to make, and the preparation is simply too time-consuming when you want to create a very simple recipe (in our opinion). There are quite good products (without questionable ingredients) out there. Who cares… sometimes you can cheat a little, or rather take shortcuts, right?! ;P
If you want to go to the trouble of making your own puff pastry dough, feel free to do so! We got a recipe for that here on the blog, of course. However, allow a few extra hours for the preparation. Yes, I said hours. ;P
Everyone else, simply grab a puff pastry dough roll (we prefer the ones made with butter instead of palm oil) from the supermarket (the cooled ones, not the frozen ones) and you skipped the most time-consuming part of the whole puff pastry shablam. Once you prepared the vanilla custard, you’re basically done. Everything else is super easy to do.
If you want to make things even less complicated, you could also »cheat« a little when preparing the vanilla custard. There are ready-made products for custard cream you can also buy in a supermarket. All you have to do there is mixing a powder with milk and maybe some cream cheese to get a similar result to a homemade vanilla custard. This (cheat) cream can then be used in the same way as the custard in the recipe to fill pretzels, hearts, or Easter eggs. It’s a shortcut for those who are in a hurry! No judgment here! ;P
You can use the recipe here to bake different types of pastries – vanilla custard pretzels, heart-shaped or Easter egg-shaped pastries… there is a lot you can do. Maybe you are more into something that looks similar to cinnamon rolls, or some round or square shapes, maybe little animals? Do whatever you can think of! We particularly like the Easter egg version with some jam added, so the pastries look like decorated Easter eggs. So cute! With those Easter eggs, you already have your Easter decorations on a plate! ;P
If you need more inspiration for puff pastry sweets and snacks, you can take a look (right) here. Our »Danishes« with Vanilla Custard & Strawberries are equally easy and quick to prepare. They are not real Danish pastries, because they are made with puff pastry dough instead of Danish pastry dough…. but who cares. Very similar! ;P
Our Heart Palmiers with puff pastry dough are also super easy to do and can be baked all year round. Although, we actually baked them for Valentine’s Day. But again – who cares. They are good all year and great, to surprise a loved one! Sorry for all those »who cares«, but who cares, right?! ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(10 pastries)
For the vanilla custard:
2 cups (480ml) regular milk (3.5% fat)
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean pod*, scraped out
2.1 oz. (60g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 medium egg
1 medium egg yolk
For the pretzels/Easter eggs:
2 rolls of fresh puff pastry dough (9.7 oz./275g each, chilled)
2 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla powder*
2-3 tbsp. raspberry jam without seeds (optional)
some whisked egg yolk for brushing
(10 Puddingteilchen)
Für den Vanille Pudding:
480ml Milch (3,5% Fett)
100ml Schlagsahne
1 Vanilleschote*, ausgekratzt
60g Speisestärke
50g Zucker
1 Ei (M)
1 Eigelb (M)
Für die Brezeln/Ostereier:
2 Rollen frischer Blätterteig (à 275 g, Kühlregal)
2 EL Zucker
1/8 TL Vanille Pulver*
2-3 EL Himbeermarmelade ohne Kerne (optional)
etwas verquirltes Eigelb zum Bestreichen
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Start with the vanilla custard. Cut the vanilla bean pod lengthways in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the pod and the seeds to a small saucepan together with the milk and heavy cream and heat up. The milk should be hot, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about 10 minutes.
2. Mix the cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk. Add a little of the milk/cream mixture to the bowl and stir until smooth.
3. Place the saucepan with the milk/cream again on the stove and slowly bring to a boil. As soon as you see bubbles coming up on the sides of the saucepan, stir in the starch mixture and cook the mix until the custard has thickened nicely. Next, add the egg and egg yolk and stir in – make sure to stir immediately and well, or the egg might curdle. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cover the custard (directly on the surface) with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool down completely. The custard can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set them aside. Allow the puff pastry dough to come to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
5. Unroll the first puff pastry sheet on your work surface. Mix sugar and vanilla powder and sprinkle evenly on top of the dough. Place the second puff pastry sheet on top and press them together – works well with a rolling pin. Cut the dough from the short side into strips that are about 4 cm wide. Grab the strips at both ends and twist them and stretch them a little at the same time. Then shape this twisted dough strings into pretzels or any other shape you like, such as hearts or Easter eggs. Place them on the trays with enough space between them.
6. Stir the custard to soften it and to get rid of any lumps, then fill the pretzel cavities or the openings of the hearts or Easter eggs with the custard. Decorate the pastry pieces with some raspberry jam to your liking. Brush the dough with whisked egg yolk and then bake the two trays in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. The puff pastry should have risen nicely and gotten some color. Remove from the oven and let cool down on the baking sheets. Dust with a little powdered sugar if desired (optional) and serve.
1. Mit dem Vanillepudding starten – dazu die Vanilleschote längs aufschneiden und das Mark herauskratzen. Schote und Mark zusammen mit Milch und Sahne in einen kleinen Topf geben und erwärmen. Die Milch sollte heiß sein, aber nicht kochen. Vom Herd ziehen und etwa 10 Minuten ziehen lassen.
2. Speisestärke und Zucker in einer kleinen Schüssel vermischen. Die Vanilleschote aus der Milch herausnehmen. Ein wenig von der Milch-Sahne-Mischung zur Schüssel dazugeben und alles glatt rühren.
3. Die restliche Milch und Sahne im Topf erneut auf den Herd stellen und langsam zum Kochen bringen. Sobald man Luftblasen aufsteigen sieht, die Stärkemischung einrühren und so lange köcheln lassen, bis der Pudding angedickt hat. Das Ei und das Eigelb dazugeben und unterrühren. Den Topf vom Herd ziehen und den Pudding direkt auf der Oberfläche mit einem Stück Klarsichtfolie abdecken, damit sich keine Haut bildet. Vollständig abkühlen lassen. Den Pudding kann man schon einen Tag vorab zubereiten und im Kühlschrank lagern.
4. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Zwei Backbleche mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Den Blätterteig etwa 10 Minuten auf Raumtemperatur kommen lassen.
5. Die erste Blätterteigrolle auf der Arbeitsfläche ausrollen. Zucker und Vanille Pulver vermischen und gleichmäßig auf den Teig verteilen. Die zweite Teigrolle auflegen und alles gut zusammenpressen – geht mit einem Nudelholz recht gut. Den Teig von der kurzen Seite her in etwa 4 cm breite Streifen scheiden. Die Streifen an beiden Enden greifen und ineinander verdrehen und dabei ein wenig länger ziehen. Diese verdrehten Würste dann zu Brezeln, Herzen oder Ostereiern formen. Mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf die Bleche setzen.
6. Den Pudding noch einmal durchrühren, bis keine Klümpchen mehr zu sehen sind, dann die Mulden der Brezeln oder Öffnungen von Herzen oder Ostereiern mit der Puddingcreme befüllen. Wer mag, kann auch noch mit ein wenig Himbeermarmelade dekorieren. Den Teig mit verquirltem Eigelb bestreichen und dann die beiden Bleche im vorgeheizten Ofen für etwa 20 Minuten backen. Der Blätterteig sollte schön aufgegangen sein und Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und auf dem Blech abkühlen lassen. Nach Belieben noch mit etwas Puderzucker bestäuben (optional) und servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Easy Vanilla Custard Pastries (with Puff Pastry Dough)
- Prep Time: 00:35
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Sweet Snacks
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This easy-peasy dessert is done in record time: Vanilla Custard Pastries made with puff pastry dough are simple but also extremely delicious! The perfect snack!
Ingredients
For the vanilla custard:
2 cups (480ml) regular milk (3.5% fat)
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean pod*, scraped out
2.1 oz. (60g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 medium egg
1 medium egg yolk
For the pretzels/Easter eggs:
2 rolls of fresh puff pastry dough (9.7 oz./275g each, chilled)
2 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla powder*
2–3 tbsp. raspberry jam without seeds (optional)
some whisked egg yolk for brushing
Instructions
1. Start with the vanilla custard. Cut the vanilla bean pod lengthways in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the pod and the seeds to a small saucepan together with the milk and heavy cream and heat up. The milk should be hot, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about 10 minutes.
2. Mix the cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk. Add a little of the milk/cream mixture to the bowl and stir until smooth.
3. Place the saucepan with the milk/cream again on the stove and slowly bring to a boil. As soon as you see bubbles coming up on the sides of the saucepan, stir in the starch mixture and cook the mix until the custard has thickened nicely. Next, add the egg and egg yolk and stir in – make sure to stir immediately and well, or the egg might curdle. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cover the custard (directly on the surface) with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool down completely. The custard can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set them aside. Allow the puff pastry dough to come to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
5. Unroll the first puff pastry sheet on your work surface. Mix sugar and vanilla powder and sprinkle evenly on top of the dough. Place the second puff pastry sheet on top and press them together – works well with a rolling pin. Cut the dough from the short side into strips that are about 4 cm wide. Grab the strips at both ends and twist them and stretch them a little at the same time. Then shape this twisted dough strings into pretzels or any other shape you like, such as hearts or Easter eggs. Place them on the trays with enough space between them.
6. Stir the custard to soften it and to get rid of any lumps, then fill the pretzel cavities or the openings of the hearts or Easter eggs with the custard. Decorate the pastry pieces with some raspberry jam to your liking. Brush the dough with whisked egg yolk and then bake the two trays in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. The puff pastry should have risen nicely and gotten some color. Remove from the oven and let cool down on the baking sheets. Dust with a little powdered sugar if desired (optional) and serve.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
