Split the vanilla beans in half and remove the seeds. Place the vanilla bean seeds and milk in a saucepan over medium heat along with the vanilla bean pods and bring to almost a simmer. If using vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean seeds, you should add it later once the custard is done cooking, so for now, just heat up the milk by itself on the stove.

Once you see the first bubbles emerging on the milk, turn the heat off.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl for a couple of minutes, until pale in color.

Pour the custard back into the pan that you used to heat up the milk, through a strainer to contain any bits of egg that might have cooked, and to retain the vanilla bean pods.

Place the pan over medium heat, and begin to cook the custard stirring non-stop.

Cook the custard for a few minutes until it becomes thick.

When the custard starts thickening up, the mixture will look scrambled or lumpy. Just continue to stir and cook, it will come together and become smooth.

When the custard is thick like pudding, remove from the heat.

Place the custard in a bowl. If you didn’t add vanilla bean seeds, now it’s the time to add the vanilla extract to it. Stir to combine.

Add the butter and stir to combine.

Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard so it won’t form a skin as it cools down.

Let it cool down, and then place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

You can make the pastry cream a day ahead.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the halved strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water.

Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries are soft and falling apart.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.

You should end up with about 1 cup of strawberry liquid.

(Save the remaining strawberry pulp—it’s delicious over ice cream or yogurt!)

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 tablespoon of cold water. Let it bloom for 5–10 minutes.

Microwave the bloomed gelatin for a few seconds until fully dissolved (just warm, not boiling), then whisk it into the warm strawberry liquid.

Cool Briefly. Let the mixture cool for 5–10 minutes, just until it’s no longer hot but still pourable and not set.

Spread the pastry cream evenly on the bottom of your fully baked and cooled crust.

Place halved strawberries (cut side down) over the pastry cream, fully covering the surface.

Glaze the Strawberries. Spoon the warm strawberry sauce over the strawberries, making sure each one is evenly coated.

Refrigerate the assembled pie for at least 6 hours before serving to allow the topping to fully set.