A wonderful silky pastry cream that is flavored with chocolate and stout beer. This Chocolate Stout Pastry Cream is a perfect filling for beer donuts | doughnuts, cakes, cupcakes and other beer dessert recipes.
In a medium size pot, add the stout beer, cream, milk, vanilla bean and salt. Place over low heat and allow the mixture to slowly warm to an almost simmer, where the edges of the pan start to form bubbles. Take the pan off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
In a metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugars light and fluffy. Sift together the flour and cornstarch over the beaten yolks and whisk until a thick paste forms. Using a ladle, pour a few ounces of the hot beer/cream mixture into the egg paste to temper the eggs and prevent from scrambling. Whisk together and repeat to more times, to slowly rise the temperature of the eggs.
Now pour the egg mixture back into the remaining beer/cream mixture, whisking to incorporate the ingredients together and prevent any lumps. Place the pot back over low heat, whisking constantly. Create a pattern to scrape the whole bottom and edges of the pan, preventing any of the egg mixture to cooking or sticking to the bottom of the pot. The mixture will start to thicken up and come to a boil. Continue to whisk and let the pastry cream boil for 30 – 60 seconds, then remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped chocolate and continue to whisk until it has melted into the pastry cream. Remove the vanilla bean pod, scraping out any remaining seeds.
Then using a fine sieve, strain the pastry cream into another bowl to remove any curdled eggs and ensure a silky smooth finished product. Cover the surface of the pastry cream with a layer of plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to cool before using.