Lime confectioner's custard (pastry cream)

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 450 g, you will need:

• 1 250 ml whole milk
• 2 1 lime
• 3 3 egg yolks
• 4 50 g caster sugar
• 5 20 g cornflour
• 6 5 drops food colouring (optional)
• 7 30 g butter (optional)
• Total weight: 490 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
48 min.	8 min.	56 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Pour 250 ml whole milk into a saucepan on medium heat and bring to the boil. When it reaches boiling point, take off the heat and zest 1 lime into the milk. Mix well, cover and leave for at least 15 minutes to infuse.
2	Juice 1 lime.
3	Put 3 egg yolks and 50 g caster sugar into a bowl and mix with a soft spatula.
4	Add 20 g cornflour...
5	...and mix again.
6	Pour the hot lime-infused milk into the mixture...
7	...and mix throroughly.
8	Rinse out the saucepan, then pour the mixture from the bowl back into the pan through a strainer to remove the zest (this has an unpleasant texture when eaten and all its flavour is now in the milk).
9	Put the saucepan back on low heat and stir the cream constantly while it thickens.
10	At this stage you can add 5 drops food colouring (green) to improve the appearance.
11	Use a whisk towards the end of cooking, as this is more effective.
12	Take the custard off the heat and whisk in the lime juice.
13	For a smoother cream, you can whisk in 30 g butter, cut into small pieces. Your lime confectioner's custard is now ready. Cover with a lid or, better still, cover with plastic film until needed.

Remarks

For an even more marked flavour, mix the caster sugar with half the zest the day before and leave covered until needed.
The amount of lime juice is quite approximate, so adjust to suit your taste.

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