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Pastry cream, rich, creamy and full of flavor, is a classic of the pastry kitchen, the undisputed queen of creams, and a foundational recipe to use on all kinds of treats, such as French Raspberry Tart, an enduring favorite.
Pastry cream, known as Crème Pâtissière in France and Crema Pasticcera in Italy, is a luscious vanilla cream filling used in all kinds of pastries.
Making your own pastry cream at home is so easy and rewarding! And it’s a good thing, because it’s getting harder to find real pastry cream than it used to be, even in Italy, where this authentic Crema Pasticcera recipe for Italian pastry cream was taught to me long ago by my Italian mother-in-law. I am so thankful, because we have enjoyed it immensely so many times over the years. And I hope you enjoy it too! (Further down the page are some wonderful examples of pastry cream desserts and uses.)
What is Pastry Cream?
Essentially, pastry cream is a custard — a creme Anglaise base that is thickened with flour or another starch. Besides thickening the cream, the addition of starch makes pastry cream much easier to make than creme Anglaise — with a more forgiving temperature range, which eliminates the need for a double boiler to prevent curdling.
Pastry Cream = Crème Pâtissière = Crema Pasticcera,
a thick custard that is made by combining:
a Creme Anglaise base (traditionally milk, egg yolks, sugar) with a Starch
(Traditional flavorings include vanilla and citrus zest.)
Like creamy desserts? If so, did you know how easy Tiramisu is to make, and that I have the best, most luscious recipe for Tiramisu. (Really!) It’s authentic Italian, and also happens to be one of the simplest!
Ingredients – Info & Tips
Pastry Cream Ingredients: milk, sugar, eggs, flour/cornstarch, butter, and vanilla.
Below are some ingredient-focused tips to help you make the very best pastry cream.
Whole Milk
Although called a cream, there is actually no cream in traditional pastry cream, only milk — which makes a beautifully rich flavored cream with a full mouthfeel that is never cloying. For a rich, fully satisfying cream, always use whole milk. If you are thinking about a lighter version using low-fat milk, I highly recommend eating half of the serving instead and enjoying every mouthful to the fullest!
Eggs – Keys to Successful Cooking
- Freshness – Use the freshest, best quality eggs you can find. In the US, look for pasture-raised (second choice: free-range), certified-humane, organic fed, no-antibiotics, non-gmo.
- Egg tempering – Gradually introducing the hot liquid into the room temperature egg yolks will prevent the frustrating scrambled egg effect, and instead, will bring out the natural thickening power found in eggs.
- Continuous stirring ensures an even distribution of heat, and helps prevent the egg yolks from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Starch – Which One to Use?
- Flour – Flour is the traditional starch used for pastry cream, and my personal favorite for texture and aesthetics. However, it does have you at the stove longer, wondering when it will thicken up.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch is a superior thickener to flour, giving the cream a glossier appearance, and reaching a thicker consistency faster and at lower temperatures. It is also gluten free and neutral flavored. But the resulting shine gives it a slightly less traditional look and mouthfeel than with flour (although the difference is admittedly minimal).
- A Common Compromise – Mix half flour and half cornstarch.
- Cornstarch vs Potato Starch – Cornstarch and Potato Starch have very similar properties and can be used interchangeably. However, creams made with potato starch tend to thin out more when stirred.
Vanilla
I strongly recommend using real vanilla beans (How to Use a Vanilla Bean). I often use either Madagascar vanilla beans or Tahitian vanilla beans, which elevate the cream to heavenly status. While vanilla beans can be expensive, for this recipe, we only use half of a vanilla bean, which means half the expense!
Quality vanilla paste, or authentic pure vanilla extract * will also give a full vanilla taste experience. Imitations don’t do justice to the cream, or your taste buds!
*Pure vanilla extract is made from real vanilla beans that are macerated in an alcohol and water solution to extract the vanilla’s flavor, and then aged.
Tips for Making Great Pastry Cream
Pastry cream is really easy to make, but a little crema pasticcera wisdom and a few more tips help make it better:
- The flavor deepens with time. If possible, make pastry cream a day ahead, or early morning.
- For a stronger vanilla flavor, you can add the vanilla bean pod and its paste of seeds to the milk the night before and refrigerate.
- The milk has to come to a boil. This is to kill enzymes in the yolks that would digest the starch, making the cream thinner instead of thicker. We want thick!
- For important keys to successfully cooking the eggs, see the Ingredients section above.
- The cream should be thick but spreadable. It will keep thickening as it cools.
- Use a large fine-mesh strainer to get a smoother texture, if lumpy or grainy.
- To cool the cream quickly, place the bowl in an ice bath and stir until cool.
- Avoid stirring once the cream cools, as stirring will break the starches bonds and thin out the cream.
- To prevent the formation of a film while cooling, place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream.
- Always refrigerate.
FAQ
Pastry cream does not freeze well. Freezing causes the cream to separate, and defrost into a watery consistency.
Helpful Tools & Sources
- Whisk – My favorite whisk for stovetop stirring is a flat whisk.
- Scale – A digital food scale makes measuring so much easier.
- Vanilla Beans – I use and recommend using organic Madagascar vanilla beans or Tahitian vanilla beans
Pastry Cream Uses
Pastry cream is used in many treats, including as a base for tarts, a filling for cream puffs, profiteroles, éclairs, Danish pastries, French croissants, and Italian croissant-shaped breakfast brioche (also called cornetti in Italy), to name a few. In fact, this is the filling I use in my extremely popular Raspberry Tart.
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Crema Pasticcera for Breakfast:
An Italian Favorite
One of my favorite things, I confess, about Italy has always been the croissant-shaped brioche filled with crema pasticcera for breakfast. I’m not sure why they never became commonplace in America. Today, even in Italy, it’s getting harder to find quality breakfast pastries with real pastry cream. Nowadays, an alarming number of cafés (bars, bar-pasticcerias) in Italy have switched to serving industrial frozen pastries instead of making their own or supporting local pastry makers as they used to do not too long ago. Interestingly, some luxury fashion companies in Italy have bought some of the iconic bar-pasticceria institutions, like Milan’s Cova in via Montenapoleone (Louis Vuitton) or Marchesi in via S. Maria alla Porta (Prada).
Going to Milan? Besides Cova and Marchesi, mentioned above, other longtime favorites that have historically had excellent pastry-cream-filled brioche and espresso are: Bastianello, St. Ambroeus, and Pasticceria Giacomo (Giacomo Caffè next to the Duomo, and Ristorante Da Giacomo, are great too), and a little more off the beaten track is Sissi.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1½ Tbsp cornstarch
- 1½ Tbsp flour
- ½ vanilla bean or 2 tsp of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Take butter out of fridge to come to room temperature.
If using vanilla bean: make a lengthwise slit with a paring knife, scrape the seeds out and add, along with the pods, to a medium heavy saucepan. - Pour the milk into the saucepan and bring just to a boil while stirring with a whisk. Remove pan from heat.
- Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl, stir the cornstarch and flour into the sugar, then add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
- Temper the egg yolks: While whisking nonstop, slowly pour or spoon in around half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
- Pour it all back into the saucepan, remove the vanilla bean, and bring to a gentle boil while stirring with a whisk, making sure to get the bottom and corners of the pot. Keep stirring until thick, around 8-10 minutes. (Note: the cream will continue to thicken as it cools.)
- If using vanilla extract: add now.
- Stir in the butter.
- Let Cool: Pour the cream into a bowl and let cool for 20 minutes before refrigerating. For a faster cooling time: plunge the bowl into icy water, vigorously whisk until cool and refrigerate immediately.
Notes
- Yield: 2 cups/500ml (Enough for one 9½”/24cm tart)
- For a stronger vanilla flavor, add the vanilla bean to the milk the night before and refrigerate. (Slit the vanilla bean and add its paste of seeds along with the bean pod.)
- Vanilla Bean: Can be rinsed, dried and stored in a jar of sugar for later use.
- Optional Straining: To remove lumps or ensure an ultra-smooth consistency, you can strain the thickened pastry cream, while still warm, through a large fine-mesh strainer.
- To Keep the Cream Thick: Avoid stirring after refrigeration, as it will break down the starch bonds and become thinner.
- Storage: Stays well for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. To help prevent the formation of a film on top, place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream. Does not freeze well.
Variations
- Starch: Can use all flour, or a combination of starch and flour. Potato starch works in a pinch, but tends to thin more easily if stirred once off the heat.
- Salt: To enhance flavor, stir in a pinch of salt with the starch.
- Citrus: Can substitute lemon zest in place of vanilla (or try orange zest).
Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
A Little History
The first recipe for pastry cream, Crème Pâtissière, is found in Le Cuisinier Roïal et Bourgeois, written in 1691 by François Massialot, an accomplished chef. Among other things, he is also credited for the creation of Crème Brulèe and Meringue.
2 comments
Can we substitute vanilla custard that is sold everywhere in Australia for the same process?
I would think as long as the custard is thick enough for what you want to serve it with. Of course for the best flavor it is so worth making it from scratch! Dinner guests swoon!