Pastry Cream is one of the most important building blocks of French pastry and can be made in less than 30 minutes. From cream puffs to eclairs, mille-feuille (Napolean pastry), fruit tarts and cake fillings like my American favorite Boston Cream Pie. While basically a thick vanilla custard or pudding, it can be flavored almost any way you can think of.
This is a deep dive into the fascinating French filling that serves so many purposes.
Cooked on the stove using milk, sugar, egg yolks and a thickener, it becomes a thick, smooth and glossy vanilla pastry cream that is a blank canvas to be used in countless applications.
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For other uses for pastry cream please see: Double Banana Cream Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Caramelized Peach Tart with Brown Sugar Crumble, Banana Caramel Tarts with Rum Pastry Cream, Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastries, Coconut Cream Pie with a Difference, and The Fruit Basket Cake.
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Why Make Pastry Cream
All pastry cream is not created equal. Some pastry creams will not survive freezing. This one will. Some have a starchy, off putting taste, this one doesn't. Some are soft to the point they won't hold a ridge when piped, this one will. Some pastry creams will not hold up at room temperature, this one will. I wanted to come up with a pastry cream that did everything I said and this one will.
Bo Friberg, the noted PastryChef/Instructor describes pastry cream in his book, The Professional Pastry Chef, as: "Making pastry cream is one of the basic techniques that anyone involved with cooking (pastry shop or otherwise) should master, because pastry cream has so many applications. In an emergency, it can be thinned and used as a sauce; it is a base for soufflé, it is filling and flavoring for cakes; and it can be used as a topping for Danish or other pastries. In the pastry kitchen, there should always be a supply of pastry cream in the refrigerator."
Can it Freeze? Mine Can!
It depends upon the recipe. Most recipes specify cornstarch instead of the original thickener, flour, citing a pasty, floury after taste with which I agreed. However, cornstarch breaks down if frozen and thawed. So the answer is no if you're using cornstarch as your starch.
Because we froze many of the items we sold wholesale to restaurants, hotels and caterers, we needed to find an answer to this problem. What I ended up doing was cutting the flour way back and using gelatin to complete the thickening. As a result, this pastry cream freezes and thaws beautifully taking all the last minute work out of it and allowing us to sell desserts with pastry cream as a component.
The gelatin serves two purposes. It held the pastry cream at room temperature plus when caterers and hotels plated desserts ahead of time it didn't break down. So my recipe includes some flour and gelatin in proportions that make a smooth, rich pastry cream without a rubbery texture that either one alone can produce.
Basic Ingredients
The basic ingredients for my pastry cream recipe include egg yolks, sugar, milk (whole or 2%), flour, gelatin and vanilla. Other flavors may be substituted. That's it for mine. I have seen recipes that add a bit of butter although it is not one of the original ingredients and I don't.
What Cooking Pot to Use
It is important to make pastry cream in any pot other than aluminum or cast iron which can discolor the final result producing a grayish pastry cream that is not very appealing.
Storing
After the pastry cream is made it should be covered directly which simply means placing plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream so it doesn't form a skin. Poke a few holes in it. Cool to room temperature and then chill or freeze it. It will last about 5 days in the refrigerator or it will freeze for months if put in a freezer proof container. Thaw in the refrigerator to use.
Flavors of Pastry Cream
Pastry Cream can be flavored many different ways including melted white, milk or dark chocolate, coffee, with liqueurs, citrus zest or any extracts, although vanilla remains the most common. soufflé This is one place I recommend using really good vanilla. If you want to flavor yours like professionals, use tahitian vanilla with its light, floral essence.
Why You Should Make This Pastry Cream
- The most important difference is that this pastry cream can be frozen and thawed without harm to the product.
- The recipe can be increased in direct proportion which means just multiply the ingredients - no changes are necessary.
- Super easy is an understatement. Just follow the pictures and the instructions and you'll be an expert in no time.
- This is so much better than taking a shortcut and using a mix.
- It takes less than 30 minutes.
Variations
- Lemon, Lime or Orange - Peel the rind of a lemon or orange, cut it into large pieces and place it in a pan with the milk. Bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat and bring it to room temperature. Remove the rind and use the milk which is now flavored. For extra flavor, refrigerate the milk and rind overnight. This will give a lot of flavor without making bumps in your pastry cream as adding the grated zest of the fruit.
- Coffee - Add a tablespoon of instant coffee or a couple of teaspoons of expresso to the milk when heating it.
- Cinnamon - Either steep several cinnamon sticks in the hot milk or add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the pastry cream when making it.
- Liqueur - Omit the vanilla and add 2 tablespoons of any liqueur to the finished pastry cream.
- Extracts - Whisk in ½ to 1 teaspoon of any extract into the hot, finished pastry cream. Taste and add more to taste. Remember it will not taste as strong when cold.
- Chocolate - Add 3 ounces of white, dark or milk chocolate.
- Crème Légère or Lightened Pastry Cream is pastry cream that has whipped cream added to it. While the traditional proportions are 2 parts pastry cream to 1 part whipping cream, less whipped cream is often used.
- Diplomat Cream is a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream that has been stabalized with gelatin. It’s lighter than pastry cream, and richer than whipped cream. Since my pastry cream already has gelatin in it, adding whipped cream to it makes it Diplomat Cream.
Recipe Ingredients
Basic Pastry Cream
Ingredients for the Basic Pastry Cream include: Egg yolks, granulated sugar, milk, water, vanilla, all-purpose flour and gelatin.
Lightened Pastry Cream
The ingredients are: Pastry Cream and heavy cream
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients& instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Before starting, combine the gelatin and water in a small bowl. Set aside. Heat the milk with the split vanilla bean pod if using to a simmer. Set aside. Step 1. Combine the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl. Step 2. Immediately whisk the together. Step 3. Add the flour. Step 4. Whisk everything until smooth.
Step 5. Add the hot milk to the egg mixture. Step 6.Whisk it in making sure to get into all of the corners until it is all combined. Step 7. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium saucepan. Step 8. Pour the mixture through the strainer. You can see some of the unincorporated egg yolk which would have caused lumps had they not been strained out.
Step 9. Place the pan over medium heat. Step 10. Stir constantly until the pastry cream comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Step 11. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Step 12. Stir it in completely.
Step 13. The gelatin in the bowl and bloomed and is a flexible blob at this time. Step 14. When the pastry cream is finished, remove the gelatin from the bowl. Step 15. Tear it into small pieces and add it to the hot pastry cream. Let it melt and then stir it in. Step 16. Pour it into a container, cover the top with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it. Let it come to room temperature; then refrigerate or freeze.
Lightened Pastry Cream (Diplomat Cream)
Step 17. Place the cold pastry cream in a bowl. Step 18. Whisk it until it is smooth. It will be very chunky in the beginning, just keep whisking. Step 19. Whip the cream until stiff. Add it to the pastry cream. Step 20. Fold it in until it is all incorporated and smooth. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days before using.
Recipe FAQS
Absolutely not. It is simply egg yolks and sugar mixed together, milk is added along with flour or cornstarch and it is heated until it thickens. Vanilla or other flavoring is added, then chilled.
Stiffly whipped cream is added to lighten the pastry cream and add another dimension to it.
Pastry cream is actually a thick custard that is made on the stove top. It's versatility as to flavoring and uses is many fold including cream puffs, eclairs, St.Honore, cakes, tarts, and just about anything that needs a smooth, luscious filling.
Expert Tips
- It is most important to mix sugar and egg yolks together immediately or they can clump together and become small hard blobs. This happens because sugar is hygroscopic, and as such, it attracts the water from the egg yolks and makes it gelatinize. Once this happens the mixture cannot be reversed and the only option is to throw them away and start over.
- Pastry cream needs to be made in any pot that is not aluminum or cast iron unless it is coated.
- Using flour and gelatin as the thickening agents in pastry cream allows the cream to be frozen.
- In the olden days, pastry cream would be made and then it would be shoved through a chinois or strainer. This is actually backwards. Strain it before it is cooked to make your life easier.
A Few Other Pastry Cream Desserts
Love this Pastry Cream? It would be hugely helpful and so appreciated it if you would take a moment to leave a rating. Thank you.
Pastry Cream
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 1 teaspoons gelatin
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split
- 1 ⅓ cup very hot milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
- 3 tablespoons flour (26 grams)
Diplomat Cream
- 1 recipe pastry cream
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Soften the gelatin in the water and set aside.
- If using the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and add to the milk along with the pod; heat the milk until hot but not boiling.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a non-reactive saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Remove the pod from the milk. Add the milk slowly, whisking well and scraping the corners of the pan with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the egg yolk mixture is incorporated.
- Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla (if using extract). Tear the dissolved gelatin into small pieces and stir it into the hot liquid (there is no need to liquefy it, the heat of the mixture will do this for you).
- Pour into a storage container, cover the surface with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in it and refrigerate overnight to chill or freeze.
- Yield: about 2 cups (490 grams)
Notes
Nutrition
Kinga says
I always come back to this pastry cream. It really is the best. The freezable aspect is so great for make ahead bakes. I am going to try the chocolate version this weekend to fill my cupcakes. Thanks for this marvelous recipe.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi There - You're welcome. I developed that recipe when I had my bakery. We needed something to hold and freeze. So happy you enjoy it.
Cheryl says
I would like to know if staring the milk egg mixture technique first before cooking could probably be used when making ice cream? Sorry to go off on the beaten path. It is such a grand idea.
Helen S Fletcher says
Not completely sure of the question but creme anglaise is usually used for ice cream. I don't make ice cream with a custard base because I feel it masks the taste of the ingredients.
Chip says
Good morning Helen. Questions. Always questions. I apologize. I love anything that may be made on slower days and frozen. Is there an amount or multiple amounts to freeze that will be appropriate for most recipes? Thanks as always.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Chip - it just depends upon what you are making but generally a single recipe if lightened is enough for a tart or to fill a cake. It makes 2 cups. Also, it can be multipled up with no problem.
Chip says
Perfect. Thank you.
Anna says
I'm so excited to to use your lightened pastry cream for a cake I'm making for my 95th grandmother's birthday cake, which I will freeze and then transport in the cooler. Question: Have you ever made it with coconut milk? I am making a coconut cake and think this would be just divine. Thanks so much.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Anna, No I have not. Since there is so much coconut in the filling, I doubt it would add anything. The texture of the coconut milk is also very different from regular milk, I'm not sure you will get the same result.
Anna says
Thanks so much. Made the pastry cream as written, but I did use 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. coconut extract. Held up perfectly after frozen and thawed in 100 degree weather! 5 stars!
Helen S Fletcher says
Thanks Anna - The pastry cream can accept so many different flavors. So happy you enjoyed it.
Lila says
I so appreciate you sharing your years of experience with your readers. I was wondering if lightened pastry cream made with the gelatin could be used as a layer in a cake and then frozen.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Lila, Thank you so much for your kind words. Absolutely it can. I've done it often. Just thaw in the refrigerator the day before.
Arvi says
Hello, Helen
Thank you so much for all this information that you share with us. I appreciate so much.
I have a question: how long can a cake filled with pastry cream +gelatine+butter is safe at room temp?
Thank you so much
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Arvi, The government suggestion for meat is 4 hours, so I would assume this would be fine for at least 2 to 3 hours.
Belinda says
Hello! I've heard that baking pastry cream causes it to curdle, if it was made with cornstarch. Do you you know if that's true? Since yours is made with flour, do you think I can use this pastry cream for a baked tart?
hfletcher says
Hi Belinda - I haven't tried it so I really can't speak conclusively to it. However, these pastries bake for 35 to 40 minutes and the pastry cream doesn't break or curdle. Flour is the difference. Cornstarch heated too long will lose it's gelling power. I would keep the oven heat around 300° to 350° and not any higher.
Belinda says
Wow, thank you for replying so quickly! Now I have the confidence to try it, using pastry cream made with flour and your baking instructions. Thanks again!
hfletcher says
Your welcome Belinda. Let me know how it goes.
Belinda says
It came out great! It went into a tart crust, topped with pears, then baked for about 40 minutes, and there were no problems at all with the pastry cream breaking. Thanks again!
hfletcher says
Hi Belinda, Thank you so, so much for getting back to me. And so happy to hear this. I'll mention it in the post.
Rockyrd says
Hi Helen,
Do you think there is a difference in taste to use flour rather than corn starch to thicken pastry cream?
Ive always used corn starch but never had to freeze it.
Thanks
Rockyrd
hfletcher says
HI M.J. - I've never used cornstarch but I can tell you that there is no discernable starch taste to the pastry cream. The other thing to remember is that this is a French cream and when it was invented they didn't have cornstarch. These pastries have to be frozen completely before going into the oven. The cornstarch will not hold up.
Lynette Pruett says
Thanks so much for this post, Helen! I know this sounds crazy, but in all of the years I’ve made pastry cream, I’ve never thought to sub flour for cornstarch for the thickening!!! And since I know that cornstarch can break down when frozen, I’ve never had the convenience of having pastry cream stashed in the freezer. DUH......
Sometimes it takes advice from a friend to ignite that lightbulb in our baking adventures. Thanks for being the one to illuminate this idea.
As always, thanks to Mike for his wonderful photos. And please stay safe; we all have a long winter ahead of us considering what the virus is doing in our country right now.
hfletcher says
Hi Lynette - Thanks for this. But I am a bit frustrated. I have added a new tab on my blog for Technique where I will add things like the pastry cream and a lot of basic recipes and techniques. Well, the pastry cream is for tomorrows blog. The first time I added something to the technique section the same thing happened - it went out and shouldn't have. So, I was told it was fixed and lo and behold, it went out again. I quickly retrieved it but you are quick to look at your emails. Anyway, I'm so glad you found it helpful. I freeze it all the time and have it at a moments notice when I need it. I think your going to like tomorrows blog - Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastries. Have a good Thanksgiving and keep safe. Someday, far, far into the future - people will talk about the horrible Covid 19 virus. I would have rather read about it than lived it. Take care.
Lynette Pruett says
I definitely agree...reading history is much better than living it........