This incredible Chocolate Pastry Cream is so easy to make with only basic ingredients. Thick, luscious and rich in chocolate flavour, it's the perfect chocolate filling for cakes, éclairs, pastries and more.
I recently shared my foolproof guide to making Vanilla Crème Pâtissière from scratch and knew that I had to follow it up with this Chocolate Crème Pâtissière. It's a classic filling for good reason- because it's absolutely amazing!!!
This Chocolate Pastry Cream Recipe is super simple to make and I share a breakdown of process images and steps below so that I can take you through the process. You're going to love it!
I used the thick chocolate custard to fill these Chocolate Cream Puffs but it's so versatile that you can use it for many delicious recipes, especially in French Baking.
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❓ What is Pastry Cream?
Pastry Cream is a French-style custard called Crème Pâtissière made from eggs, sugar, a thickening agent like cornflour, and milk. You can add flavour to it such as vanilla or in this recipe, chocolate!
To make pastry cream, the yolks, sugar, cornflour and cocoa powder are whipped together before hot milk is combined with the mixture. From there, the mixture is heated in a saucepan with chocolate until it's thickened before the butter is added. The result is a smooth, rich, luxurious cream that must cool before use.
Pastry Cream is one of those important recipes that every home cook should have in their artillery of perfected recipes. It's used in so many ways in varying thicknesses. Poured over dessert, used as a filling for cake or piped into choux pastry - the possibilities are endless!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses basic ingredients. All the ingredients are basic pantry or fridge staples.
- Rich in flavour. This recipe uses both cocoa powder and dark (semi-sweet) chocolate resulting in an intense, rich, chocolate flavour with real depth.. It's a chocolate lover's delight!
- Incredible texture. This chocolate pastry cream is smooth and silky with a beautiful mouth feel.
- Simple to make. These use a very simple method of making a batter. No fancy tricks, no fancy equipment necessary.
- Perfect to turn a dessert from blah to amazing. Instead of using plain whipped cream- go the extra mile with this incredible cream.
- Customise the consistency. Want to have a thinner pastry cream - then add less cornflour.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
This list of ingredients is very basic- you only need 8 differing ingredients to make this awesome chocolate pastry cream. I've written some notes below regarding these and offer any substitutions where possible.
- Eggs - Large egg yolks provide flavour and structure when cooked to the right consistency. 5 yolks are perfect when combined with the richness of the whole milk. In the UK a large egg yolk weighs 16g/0.56oz - important as egg sizes vary in different countries.
- Sugar - Granulated or caster sugar is perfect to make Crème Pâtissière, however, I've used light brown or dark brown sugar as well. The extra molasses in the sugar adds a beautiful caramel note to your pastry cream. I don't like the pastry cream to be too sweet and find 100g perfect for this amount of pastry cream.
- Milk - Whole milk is best over low-fat or skim milk, as it provides a richer, more well-rounded flavour due to its high-fat content. You can substitute with coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk or oat milk.
- Vanilla - I use vanilla bean paste here rather than a vanilla pod. You can easily use vanilla extract.
- Corn Flour - (cornstarch) is needed to thicken the pastry cream. It's perfect as it doesn't alter the flavour of the pastry cream, which plain flour tends to do. However, you can still use plain flour to thicken the pastry cream, but you'll need to add more than corn flour. I have not tested this recipe with plain flour however.
- Butter - Only a small amount is needed to add flavour, shine and richness. Replace with plant-based butter if you prefer.
- Cocoa Powder and Dark Chocolate - These are the two main ingredients that layer together to provide a rich chocolate flavour. Dutch or regular cocoa powder will work. Use good-quality dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa (semi-sweet) for a cream that isn't overly sweet.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Chocolate Pastry Cream
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
So commonly used in baking, pastry cream is one of those baking techniques I can't wait for you to master. Adding chocolate to it just takes it up a level in flavour. It's decadent, not too sweet, well-rounded in flavour and perfectly smooth in texture. Let's deep dive in and make it.
STEP 1: Warm the milk. Add the milk to a medium heavy-based saucepan set over medium-high heat. Heat the milk until it's steaming, and some bubbles appear around the edges of the saucepan (Image 1).
Whatever you do, don't boil it!!! Keep the heat on low, and don't get impatient! Once warmed sufficiently, turn the stovetop off.
STEP 2. Whisk Eggs & Sugar. In a separate bowl, add your egg yolks and sugar (Image 3). Whisk them together until thickened and pale. This takes about a minute, a little longer if done by hand (Image 4).
TIP: Did you know that the sugar can dry out and 'burn' the egg yolks? So don't leave them in the bowl together for too long before whisking them.
STEP 3. Add in corn flour & cocoa powder. Add in the cornflour and cocoa powder and whisk until combined (Images 4 & 5). It will form quite a thick paste at the start but keep whisking and it will loosen up.
STEP 4. Temper the eggs. The eggs need to be brought up in temperature so that they don't scramble in the hot milk. Place your bowl onto a folded teatowel to stop it from moving around. Then pour the milk in very slowly whilst whisking continuously until the two are well mixed (Images 6 & 7).
STEP 5. Cook and thicken the pastry cream. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan (Image 8) and set on low heat.
Add in the chopped dark chocolate and carry on whisking whilst the mixture heats, chocolate melts and pastry cream thickens (Images 9 & 10). This can take a couple of minutes. As soon as you see a bubble in the custard, you should heat it for another minute to ensure the yolks are cooked sufficiently, and the corn flour activates and thicken. It will look smooth, shiny and thick when it's done (Image 11).
NOTE: Don't be impatient and turn the heat up, hoping the thickening will happen quicker. All you'll get is a split custard and bits of cooked egg.
STEP 6. Sieve cream and add butter. I recommend passing the mixture through a sieve to remove any possible lumps (Image 11).
Then add the butter (Image 12) and whisk it in until fully melted and combined. If it appears split, keep whisking and it will eventually come together. The butter adds a beautiful sheen to the cream but also richness. As it cools, it also helps the cream thicken (Image 13).
STEP 7. Chill the Pastry Cream. This can be done in two ways, slower or quicker method.
- A quicker method is to set the pastry cream bowl over a bowl of cold water and ice. and whisk it to bring down the temperature. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap that touches the surface (Image 14). Refrigerate the cream until it's cold.
- The slower method is to cover the cream with plastic wrap (Image 14) straight after sieving, let it come to room temperature and then refrigerate.
TIP: The plastic wrap needs to touch the surface of the cream. This helps prevent a skin from forming.
STEP 8. When ready to use the Chocolate Crème Pâtissière, remove it from the fridge and give it a good whisk. After chilling, the pastry cream will look stiff and lumpy (Image 15). However, with a good whisk and a couple of minutes, the cream will come out smooth and silky, ready to use (Image 16).
🥣 How To Use Chocolate Pastry Cream
- As a filling for choux pastry in cream puffs, chouquettes or éclairs.
- Fill a tart shell with pastry cream and top with fruit or berries like in my Tarte aux Fraises.
- Layer between fruit compote, sponge or chopped brownies to make an incredible trifle.
- If you know how to make brioche dough, then use this delicious cream to fill donuts with.
- Pipe in between layers of puff pastry to make a Mille Feiulle dessert.
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Don't whisk the eggs and sugar until ready to temper. When sugar comes into contact with the yolks and is left, it will 'burn' the yolks and cause them to essentially scramble creating unpleasant lumps that won't dissolve into the milk.
- Heat the milk until just simmering around the edges. There's no need to boil it. Heating the milk too aggressively will create too much of a difference between the room-temperature egg yolks and boiling milk.
- When tempering the eggs whisk continuously and add the milk in slowly. The yolks have to increase in temperature and the milk has to cool down whilst whisking. Doing this step too quickly will result in the milk 'cooking' the eggs and causing them to scramble.
- Avoid aluminium or cast iron saucepans to make the pastry cream in. They can react with the ingredients creating a metallic taste in the cream and turning it grey.
- Heat the custard mixture slowly. Once the eggs are tempered and the mixture is back in the saucepan, the custard needs to heat enough for the yolks to cook without scrambling but also for the starch in the cornflour to activate and allow the custard to thicken. Once you see a couple of bubbles- make sure to cook it for another minute.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Pastry Cream and Custard contain predominantly exactly the same ingredients of egg yolks, sugar and milk. However, Pastry Cream contains corn flour (cornstarch) which thickens the custard as it cools. Custard, however, thickens from the egg yolks alone and is of a more pourable consistency.
The pastry cream has been heated up too quickly causing the egg yolk to overcook. Unfortunately, once this happens there is no way to remedy the problem and you'll have to start the process again.
This will happen if too much corn starch is added, or you just prefer a looser pastry cream for the intended application. Once the pastry cream has heated in the saucepan and thickened, pour in a quarter cup at a time of warm milk to help loosen it to your desired consistency. Then continue on with the recipe by passing it through a sieve, adding the butter then chilling.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: As Chocolate pastry cream contains eggs and milk, it can't be left out at room temperature. Pour into an airtight container, place plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and cool to room temperature. Close the container with an air-tight lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Unfortunately pastry cream using corn starch can not be frozen as the thickening agent with in the corn starch breaks down during the freezing process.
🍫 More Chocolate Recipes
If you tried this Chocolate Pastry Cream Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière) Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 50 g cornflour (corn starch)
- 15 g cocoa powder
- 520 ml whole milk
- 100 g dark chocolate 70%, finely chopped
- 50 g unsalted butter, chopped, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the milk. Add the milk to a medium saucepan. Heat milk over medium heat until it begins to simmer and bubbles appear around the edge of the saucepan. Do not boil the milk.
- Whisk eggs and sugar. Whilst the milk is heating, place the yolks and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl set on a tea towel and whisk until thickened and pale. Add in cornflour and cocoa powder and whisk until combined.
- Temper the eggs. While whisking the egg mixture continuously, pour in the milk in a slow thin stream and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture straight back into the saucepan and return to low heat.
- Heat the custard. Add in the chopped chocolate and whilst continuously whisking, (do not stop!), heat the custard on low to medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken and the chocolate melts thoroughly. Once bubbles appear, heat for a further minute for the cornflour to reach the full point of thickening.
- Add in butter and cool pastry cream. Remove the pan from the heat and pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium-sized bowl. This will remove any egg lumps. Add the butter and vanilla extract to the custard and whisk until melted and combined and the cream is smooth and shiny.
- Chill the pastry cream. Cover the cream with plastic wrap and set aside until cooled to room temperature, then refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight. When ready to use, remove plastic wrap and whip or beat vigorously until smooth again.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Mira Mihaylovska
As always a great recipe! So simple, and so delicious for all the chocolate lovers. Thank you Emma! Your website is my favorite source for cooking inspiration! Regards from Bulgaria 🙂
Emma
Hi Mira - Thank you so much for that beautiful comment- you fully made my day. I really appreciate it!
Kathy
First time I’ve made pastry cream, as well as first time tempering eggs, and thanks to your excellent instructions, it was a success! It was smooth and creamy - I used it as filling for a layer cake. Delightful! It could be a little sweeter - I may use a little more sugar next time. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Emma
Thanks for the feedback, Cathy. Yes, you can definitely add more sugar. Sweetness is a subjective thing. So glad all my photos and instructions from the post helped you along 🙂
Kathleen L
Mine came out great, but when do you add the vanilla extract? I put it in after the chopped chocolate.
Emma
Apologies for that- I've amended the recipe card.