Homemade Pastry Cream Recipe

Pastry cream piped into a glass with strawberry on top.

No ratings yet

This Homemade Pastry Cream Recipe, also known as créme påtissiére in French, is a rich, creamy vanilla custard that's used as a filling in pies, cakes, tarts, eclairs and more! It's impressive yet so easy to make!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Chilling Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 183kcal

Author: Marcie

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk sub with full fat canned coconut milk for dairy-free
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons cornstarch see notes 1 and 2
1/2 vanilla bean seeds scraped; or use 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter sub with vegan butter for dairy-free

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with ice, and add enough water to fill the bowl halfway. Place a medium bowl in it with a fine mesh strainer nearby along with a piece of buttered wax paper. Set aside.
Place the sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Add the cornstarch and and whisk vigorously until smooth.
1/3 cup granulated sugar, 4 large egg yolks, 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium low heat until just before it begins to boil (it will start smoking). When the milk is hot enough, add 1/3 of it to the egg mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Once 1/3 has been added, add the rest while whisking constantly until combined.
2 cups whole milk
Place the mixture back in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, until the mixture begins to boil. Continue to cook for another minute until very thick, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and softened butter.
1/2 vanilla bean, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Strain the pastry cream through the sieve into the bowl over the ice bath using a rubber scraper to gently press it through as needed.
Cover the pastry cream with the buttered wax paper to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 2 days in advance.

Notes

Pro tip: 4 tablespoons of cornstarch results in a fairly firm creme patissiere, which is great for pie, cake and eclair fillings. If you'd like more of a pudding like consistency, reduce the cornstarch to 3 tablespoons.
If you wish to use flour, you will have to use TWICE the amount of flour as you do cornstarch. (Example, 8 tablespoons of flour is equivalent to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch).
The pastry cream will solidify quite a bit once it's been in the refrigerator for a while. Simply whisk it until smooth then use it in your recipes.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing it as the texture can vary.

Nutrition