My pastry cream failed. It turned out to be very doughy, almost like the consistency of pate a choux dough. I double checked the measurements and I am certain they were correct. The recipe I used was: http://eugeniekitchen.com/pastry-cream/. What did I do wrong here?

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702551
702551 February 23, 2018
The recipe you hyperlinked to is incredibly sloppily written. It has multiple errors in spelling, incorrect French-English translations, incorrect measurement conversions, and worst of all, inconsistent ingredient quantities.

One glaring example: corn starch is listed in the ingredients as 1/4 tablespoons [sic] but has a metric mass measurement closer to 1/4 cup. The recipe instructions call for 1/4 cup of corn starch. So how much did you use?

I suggest you find a crème pâtissière recipe from a *reliable* source and try again.

Best of luck.
 
702551
702551 February 23, 2018
Also, I am curious as to why this recipe includes corn starch. The classic recipe for this preparation only uses flour, no corn starch. Unfortunately, the author gives zero explanation why this non-traditional ingredient is included and no reasoning as to why it is combined with conventional flour.

I would stick with a time-honored, well-tested recipe. A crème pâtissière recipe is probably included in over two-thirds of the cookbooks on my bookshelf, including old standbys like Julia Childs' cookbook, even Fannie Farmer as well as any of my cookbooks written by a French, Italian, or Swiss author. Larousse Gastronomique also offers a recipe and unsurprisingly, it is flour-based (no corn starch).

The main takeaway here is to be judicious in your source of recipes, particularly for base preparations like pastry cream. The library is an excellent source of these types of base recipes, far more reliable than some error-ladened post by some random online hobbyist.
 
sdebrango
sdebrango February 23, 2018
It is thick but often I have found pastry cream to be that way. When mine becomes too thick I just whip some cream into it until it's the consistency I need adding small amounts at a time so it doesn't get too thin. It's easy to adjust. I don't think you did anything wrong, looking at the photos that also looked quite stiff
 
creamtea
creamtea February 23, 2018
It looks overcooked to me. I always whisk the dry ingredients together first to avoid clumping. I have used several different recipes over the years. I like Dorie Greenspan's recipe, and also Joanne Chang in Flour--Joanne tells you explicitly the timings and what to look for at each stage: scald milk--don't boil it, and add it to the egg mixture a little at a time. When you return the mixture to medium heat in a heavy pan, stir vigorously till it boils, (check to see if it is bubbling by halting the stirring for a second or two) then cook, whisking constantly, only 10 seconds more! then remove from heat. I always strain it at this point through a fine mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl, THEN add the vanilla AFTER it is cooked and strained.
 
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