Learn how to create the perfect French cream pastry filling - it's easy and utterly delicious! This creamy, vanilla-infused "creme patissiere" is the ultimate choice for filling your homemade tarts, puff pastries, choux pastries, and fruit tarts.
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What is Crème pâtissière?
A pastry cream, known as 'crème pâtissière' in French, is a creamy, custard-like filling commonly used in pastries, tarts, and desserts. It's a versatile and delicious component that adds a rich and luscious texture to various sweet treats.
Classic pastry cream is made from a simple combination of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla pod, and a touch of cornstarch. These ingredients are heated and whisked together to create a smooth, thick, and creamy filling with a delightful hint of vanilla flavor.
Pastry cream is a staple in French pastry-making. It's featured in various traditional recipes like the French king cake, French fruit tarts like this French strawberry tart, Tropézienne, mille-feuille, puff pastry, chocolate eclairs, and more.
Really easy to make, it is composed of basic ingredients, vanilla infused milk, egg yolks or whole eggs, powdered sugar, flour or starch for a lighter cream.
Why you'll love this recipe
Want to learn more French basic recipes? Give these a try, classic French puff pastry, French crêpes, French Meringue
Ingredient Notes
You need these ingredients to make pastry cream:
- Milk: You can use semi-skimmed, whole milk, or a combination of milk and heavy cream. More fat results in a firmer cream.
- Vanilla: Flavor the base with a vanilla bean, or vanilla bean paste or use a pure vanilla extract.
- Eggs: You can use egg yolks only for a richer cream or whole eggs.
- Sugar: Sweeten the cream with granulated sugar.
- Cornstarch: Use corn starch (corn flour) or all-purpose flour.
- Optional: To further thicken the cream, you can add a gelatine sheet or incorporate butter at the end of cooking.
>> Don't waste your egg whites: use them to make these egg white chocolate chip cookies, French meringue cookies or this Swiss meringue buttercream.
How to make French Pastry Cream Recipe
Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full recipe instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil with the vanilla bean, split in half andscraped out.
Step 2: In a medium bowl beat the yolks with the granulated sugar and cornstarch for 1 minute until smooth.
Step 3: Gradually add the hot milk mixture (remove the bean beforehand) into the egg yolk mixture while mixing with the whisk until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Step 4: Return the mixture to a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat while stirring constantly with the whisk. As soon as it starts to boil, continue cooking for one minute.
Step 5: Transfer the pastry cream to a clean dish and cover with cling film in contact to avoid a crust forming.
Step 6: Then place directly the hot pastry cream in the refrigerator until completely cooled.
Enjoy: Mix the cooled pastry cream with an electric hand mixer to give it a smooth texture before using it.
Serving Suggestions
- French Fruits Tarts: Fill a pre-baked tart shell with pastry cream and top it with fresh fruits like strawberries, kiwi, or fresh berries for a delightful fruit tart like in these strawberry custard tartlets.
- Éclairs: Pipe pastry cream into eclairs and drizzle them with chocolate glaze for a classic treat.
- Cream Puffs: Fill cream puffs with pastry cream and dust them with powdered sugar for a sweet and airy dessert.
- Napoleons (Mille-feuille): Layer puff pastry sheets with pastry cream and create a beautiful Napoleon pastry. Dust the top with powdered sugar for a finishing touch.
- Fruit Parfaits: Layer pastry cream with fruit and crumbled cookies in glasses for a delicious fruit parfait.
- Trifles: Use pastry cream as a layer in trifles along with cake and berries, then top with whipped cream for a delightful dessert.
- Fruit Salad Dip: Serve pastry cream as a dip for fresh fruit slices at parties or gatherings.
- Cake Filling: Use pastry cream as a filling on top of a sponge cake or in cake layers.
- Doughnut Filling: Inject pastry cream into doughnuts for a delightful surprise when you take a bite.
- Cream pies: Fill cream pies like Boston cream pie and fruit pies with crème pâtissière for a delectably creamy twist.
Tips for this recipe
Storage Instructions
In the Fridge: Pastry cream can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container, with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent skin formation.
How to Freeze Pastry Cream: To freeze, cool pastry cream in the fridge, transfer to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag, label with the date, and freeze for up to 2-3 months; thaw in the refrigerator and whisk gently before use.
Variations & Substitutions
Frequently asked questions
The cream must be stirred constantly during the cooking process to avoid lumps and to recover it you can pass it through a strainer to get a smoother cream.
It is not recommended to freeze your cream, it loses its texture and its flavor after a time in the freezer.
Custard is a general term for a creamy dessert made with milk, eggs, and sugar, while crème pâtissière specifically refers to a thick, sweet pastry cream used in pastries and desserts.
More Filling Recipes
I hope you love this Vanilla pastry cream. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!
Print
French Pastry cream
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
Description
Delicious and creamy French pastry cream recipe, easy to make and perfect for your homemade desserts, fill tart, cream puff, etc (about 10 - 12 servings)
Ingredients
- 500 ml (2 cups) Milk - semi-skimmed or whole
- 1 Vanilla bean
- 3 Egg yolks - room temperature
- 100 g (½ cup)Sugar - granulated
- 40 g (⅓ cup) Cornstarch or flour
Instructions
- Start by placing the milk and the vanilla bean, cut in half and scraped out, in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with the sugar and cornstarch for 1 minute until smooth.
- Remove the vanilla bean and pour the milk gradually into the bowl containing the egg yolks while whisking until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking constantly. As soon as it starts to boil, prolong the cooking time for 1-2 minutes.
- Immediately pour the pastry cream into a clean dish and cover with cling film, then place in the fridge until completely cool.
- Before using, whip a little the cooled pastry cream.
Notes
Storage: in the refrigerator for 2 days and in the freeze for 3 months.
Optional: add up to 50 g of butter for a firmer cream or add a sheet of rehydrated gelatin to be incorporated at the end of cooking off the heat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dessert, filling
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Calories: 86
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 20
- Fat: 3
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 14
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 53
This cream was delicious, thank you for the recipe and the advice.