Crème Pâtissière (Vanilla Pastry Cream) Recipe

Bowl of vanilla Crème Pâtissière in a decorative glass bowl.

5 from 2 votes

Crème Pâtissière (Vanilla Pastry Cream) Recipe

This easy-to-make vanilla pastry cream is rich, creamy and full of flavour. This French custard can be used in a myriad of ways such as a filling for éclairs, fruit tarts and cakes.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: creams

Cuisine: French

Servings: portions

Calories: 80kcal

Author: Emma Duckworth

Equipment

Heavy based saucepan

Ingredients

1 vanilla bean pod, cut in half with the seeds scraped out. or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
520 ml whole milk
5 large egg yolks room temperature
100 g granulated sugar
50 g cornflour (corn starch)
50 g unsalted butter, chopped room temperature

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Heat the milk. Combine milk, vanilla bean pod and vanilla caviar into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer and bubbles appear around the edge of the saucepan. Do not boil the milk. Remove the vanilla bean pod.
Whisk eggs and sugar. Whilst the milk is heating, place the yolks and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk until thickened and pale.
Add in cornflour and whisk until combined.
Temper the eggs. While whisking the yolks continuously, pour in the milk mixture 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. Whilst continuously whisking, (do not stop!), heat the custard on low to medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken. 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 to the custard and whisk until melted and combined.
Chill the pastry cream. Set the bowl over a water bath (a larger bowl filled with cold water and ice). Whisk the pastry cream until it cools, then place plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Alternatively, cover with the plastic wrap and set aside until cooled to room temperature, then refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.
When ready to use, remove plastic wrap and whip or beat vigorously until smooth again.

Notes

Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.

To store: Crème Pâtissière can be stored in an air-tight container with a piece of plastic wrap touching its surface in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To freeze: I would not recommend freezing Crème Pâtissière as it will lose its thickness once thawed.

Thickness: For a lighter Crème Pâtissière, fold in whipped cream.

Tip 1: 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.

Tip 2: 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.

Tip 3: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.

Tip 4: 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.

Tip 5: 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.

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