SBK's Request

I have this sheet at work, where I track birthdays and favorite desserts. My co-worker listed 'anything with whip cream & custard :) nothing too chocolate-y.'

Yes, she's Asian. =) I call this the quintessential Asian dessert: vanilla bean custard, fresh whipped cream, fresh fruit, all low sugar. You can throw in any other ingredient for formalities; cake, cookies, pie shell. That extra ingredient really doesn't matter, because every good Asian only really wants to eat those three ingredients alone.

For this rendition, I chose nilla wafers, to give texture to the other ingredients.

Mini Custard Goodness

• One serving of Pastry Cream
• 1 1/2 cups of Nilla Wafers, pulsed to fine crumbs
• 1 cup of Nilla Wafers, crushed into big pieces, set aside
• 12 whole Nilla Wafers, set aside
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup of white sugar, reduce or add sugar depending on how sweet of a crust you like.
• 6 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 2-3 cups of fresh fruit, preferably smaller fruits like berries, grapes (halved), etc.
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of powder sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• Cupcake pan and linings

Nilla Wafer Crust Directions

1. Prepare pastry cream according to recipe and leave to cool.
2. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
3. Line cupcake pan with lining.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine fine crumbed Nilla Wafers, butter and sugar.
5. Press about a tablespoon worth of the mixture into the cupcake linings. If you have any left over, just distribute it evenly among the linings.
6. Bake for about 5 minutes, until slightly brown around the edges.
7. Set aside to cool.

Whipped Cream Directions

1. Chill bowl, whip attachment, cream for 15 minutes in the freezer.
2. Using an standing mixer, start whisking the cream in a low speed until small bubbles form, about 3 minutes.
3. Slowly add sugar and vanilla extract.
4. Turn up the speed and whisk until soft peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Note: You can beat the cream as still as you like it, but for this particular dessert, I wanted it a bit droppy, so that it would have a soft cloudy look. This consistency would not work if you plan on piping the whipped cream.

Assembly Directions

1. Fill each lining 3/4 full with pastry cream.
2. Press in the fresh fruits.
3. Sprinkle with the big Nilla Wafer crumbs.
4. Top with a dallop of whipped cream.
5. Top that with a while Nilla Wafer.

Apologies for the plastic wrap over the delicious goodness. I pre-made everything the night before and ran home at lunch to assemble.