How to Make Pastry Cream: Easy Recipe & Tips
If you love baking, then this pastry cream recipe will be your best friend! It only needs a few ingredients, a little patience, and some pastries to fill. What we love most about this recipe is that it’s totally customizable! We love adding lemon zest, chocolate, or almond extract.
What is Pastry cream?
Pastry cream (Crème Pâtissière) is a thick, creamy custard made of milk, sugar, egg yolks and cornstarch. Many recipes, including ours, finish it with butter for extra richness. It’s commonly used in all sorts of delicious pastries, including eclairs, fruit tarts, and cream-filled donuts. It pairs perfectly with tart shells, puff pastry, and cake. Our favorite part about pastry cream is adding fun flavorings! This is where you can get creative and add in citrus zest, almond extract, chocolate, espresso powder, etc. You can also fold in some whipped cream at the end for a lighter, fluffier texture.
Gather your ingredients
- Whole Milk: We don’t recommend substituting for low fat or skim milk since it won’t give you the same richness that whole milk adds.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the custard and helps balance the egg yolks.
- Egg Yolks: The primary source of richness and flavor, and they help thicken the cream. Using yolks alone creates a smoother, more velvety texture than whole eggs.
- Cornstarch: Acts as a thickener and helps stabilize the custard so it sets properly without curdling.
- Unsalted Butter: Added at the end to add extra richness, shine, and a silkier texture. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract at the same time for flavor.
How to make pastry cream
Making pastry cream is easier than you think! Just follow these simple steps and you’ll have a silky smooth cream ready to go.
01. Warm the milk
Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until it is steaming and small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Do not let it come to a full boil.
02. Whisk the egg mixture
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until the mixture is smooth, pale, and free of lumps.
03. Temper the eggs
Slowly pour about half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This gradually raises the temperature of the eggs and helps prevent them from scrambling. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and whisk until combined.
04. Cook the pastry cream
Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Continue whisking for 30–60 seconds after it starts bubbling to fully cook the cornstarch. The pastry cream is ready when it has the consistency of thick pudding and coats the back of a spoon.
05. Stir in the butter
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter until completely melted and smooth. The pastry cream should look thick, silky, and glossy.
06. Chill
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours, before using.
Tips & Tricks
- Let it cool completely: It will thicken up even more as it chills.
- Don’t walk away! Pastry cream needs constant whisking while it cooks, otherwise it can scorch or turn lumpy.
- Strain it if needed: If you notice any lumps, pour the cream through a fine mesh sieve while it’s still warm.
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface: Before refrigerating to prevent a skin from forming on top.
Q&A
What if my pastry cream is lumpy? This often indicates that you cooked the eggs and ended up with egg lumps in your cream. To avoid this, you need to temper the eggs first by slowly ladling the milk into the egg yolks rather than pouring the hot milk into the eggs all at once.
Why is my pastry cream not thickening? This happens when you undercook the mixture preventing the cream from fully setting. If your cream is too thin, return it to the heat and bring to a boil until thickened.
Why is my pastry cream grainy? This is due to several different reasons: 1. The cornstarch was not completely dissolved into the egg yolk-sugar mixture. 2. Your heat was too high causing the egg to become curdled. 3. Not whisking constantly when the mixture is on the heat.
Watch how we made it:
Make it Your own
Here are some pastry cream variations you can make with our base recipe!
- Vanilla: Add a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract with the butter.
- Almond: Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract with the butter. It has a very strong flavor so a little goes a long way! You can always add a touch more to taste, but too much can overpower the cream.
- Chocolate: Add in 3-4 oz of finely chopped semisweet or dark chocolate right after you take the cream off the heat and stir until melted. You can also whisk in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder along with the cornstarch at the beginning for a deeper chocolate flavor.
- Mocha: Add 1-2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder to the milk as it warms.
- Lemon: Add fresh lemon zest with the butter for a bright, tangy flavor. We love using this variation in our stone fruit tart!
How to Store
Transfer the pastry cream to an airtight container and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Before using, whisk until smooth and creamy.
Did you find this helpful?We’d love to see! Tag @caramelclove on Instagram!
Pastry Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened & cubed
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until it is steaming and small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Do not let it come to a full boil.
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in until the mixture is smooth, pale, and free of lumps.
- Slowly pour about half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This gradually raises the temperature of the eggs and helps prevent them from scrambling. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and whisk until combined.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Continue whisking for 30–60 seconds after it starts bubbling to fully cook the cornstarch. The pastry cream is ready when it has the consistency of thick pudding and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter until completely melted and smooth.
- Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours, before using.
