If there’s one foundational cream that every aspiring pastry chef and home baker should master, it’s Crème Pâtissière – or as it’s more commonly known, pastry cream. This velvety, rich, and incredibly versatile custard is the unsung hero behind countless classic desserts, from the luscious filling of éclairs and fruit tarts to the creamy heart of Boston cream pies.
But beyond its delicious taste, crème pâtissière is a fascinating study in baking science. Understanding how eggs, sugar, milk, and starch interact under heat is key to achieving that perfectly smooth, stable, and lump-free consistency every time. No more runny fillings or scrambled eggs!
In this post, we’re going to demystify crème pâtissière, breaking down the precise steps and the science behind them. By the end, you’ll not only have a foolproof recipe, but also the confidence to whip up this essential cream like a pro, elevating all your pastry creations!
How and Where To Use Crème Pâtissière!
- Crème Pâtissière is a quintessential filling for profiteroles (cream puffs) and eclairs
- It’s the perfect base for a fruit tart, topped with strawberries or mixed berries/fruits
- Ideal between layers of puff pastry to make a gorgeous mille feuille
- Fill doughnuts for a classic, but unbeatable custard doughnut
- Crème Pâtissière is also versatile, use crème pâtissière as a base to make crème diplomate or crème mousseline
Ingredients
- Whole Milk – Classically we use whole milk to make pastry cream and for good reason! Choosing the correct dairy is going to determine the flavour, body and texture of the pastry cream. Skimmed milk lacks enough fat resulting in a loose flavourless custard. Whipping cream or double cream is too fatty so when cooked the fats split out resulting in a greasy lumpy mess. Whole milk delivers in all areas giving you the ideal smooth, rich and flavourful custard.
- Egg Yolks – We use egg yolks for it rich fattiness for additional flavour and for structure as it will aid in thickening the custard.
- Cornflour (cornstarch) – Some recipes may call for flour, I flour to be a little stodgy, it produces a very dense and thicker pastry cream. Due to the proteins in flour, as it cooks it thickens for a very gelatinous custard. However, cornflour, contains very little protein but is a natural thickener, making it the best option here to provide body and result in a smooth, silky pastry cream,
- Caster Sugar
- Vanilla Pods – I know this is an expensive option but in my opinion, nothing beats the flavour of a fresh vanilla pod especially when added to fresh creams and custards. As a substitute, vanilla paste will work just fine if you don’t want to use pods. I typically use Madagascan Bourbon vanilla pods as its affordable and versatile with other recipes. That being said the best vanilla is Tahitian, Tahitian vanilla lends itself to custards, with floral & delicate notes accompanies the rich fattiness of dairy, although it is the most expensive vanilla you can get, a little goes a long way!
- Butter – Butter although not traditional for pastry cream is a great addition for flavour and shine. The additional fat from the butter is going to coat the inside of your mouth allowing the flavour to linger as the fats melt slowly.
All The Equipment You Need To Make Crème Pâtissière
- Heavy Bottom Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital scale
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Silicon Spatula
How to store Crème Pâtissière
Crème Pâtissière will store for up to 3 days in the fridge. Store in an airtight container and surface wrap with cling film to avoid a skin forming.
Freezing is not ideal due to the cornflour in the pastry cream. Once it is thawed the structure of the pastry cream is effected immensely. The water content in the pastry ream separates leaving behind a very grainy texture.
Crème Pastisserie
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Split and scrape out vanilla seeds from the pod and add it to milk in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add sugar, cornflour and egg yolks and mix together until combined1.
- Once the milk has come to a boil, temper the egg yolks by pouring milk in a little at a time, continuously stirring until about half the liquid has incorporated.
- Add it back into the pan with the remaining milk.
- Over a low to medium heat keep stirring with a spatula making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. It will start to thicken, as it thickens keep stirring for 2-3 minutes to cook out the cornflour.
- Take off the heat and add in the butter, mix vigorously to completely emulsify the butter2.
- Pass through a fine mess sieve to remove any strands of the vanilla pod and eggy lumps.
- Place the crème patisserie int a container, surface wrapped with cling film and into the fridge for around 4 hours to set up.
- Once it is set and you are ready to use, take it out of the fridge and leave it no your work bench for 15 minutes to take the chill off it.
- Place into your stand mixer bowl or mixing bowl and whisk until it is smooth and lump free (around 2 minutes).
- You now have perfect crème patisserie to pipe and fill your creations.
Notes
- Only mix until combined and lump free, you don't want to incorporate any air.
- If the butter isn't completely emulsified, you risk it splitting out and a layer of fat will set up on the surface or through the crème pat. When you go to whisk it the heat generated will cause it to melt coating the crème pat leaving it with an undesirable texture.