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★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
Easier Than You Think
Homemade pastry cream sounds fancy, but it’s surprisingly simple to make. With just a handful of pantry staples — eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla — you can whip up this luscious filling in no time! Just 10 minutes of prep, in fact. The process is straightforward and quick, making it a confidence-boosting recipe even for beginner bakers.
Rich and Custardy
The beauty of pastry cream is its smooth, custard-like texture. It’s thick enough to hold its shape when used as a filling but can also be thinned out if you prefer a lighter consistency. This flexibility makes it a versatile base for countless desserts.
Authentic Boston Cream Cake Filling
One of the best uses for pastry cream is as a cake filling. It adds richness and moisture, instantly elevating any recipe. Try it in my Boston Cream Bundt Cake, or Boston Cream Cupcakes. the pastry cream takes the flavor from homemade-good to bakery-quality.
More Dessert Uses
Beyond cakes, pastry cream can be used in many desserts. Use it to fill éclairs, cream puffs, fruit tarts, or donuts. You can even serve it in a bowl topped with fresh fruit or use it to replace custard
Bakery-Quality at Home
Making your own pastry cream, a custard also known as crème pâtissière, is an easy way to take your dessert up a notch. That silky texture and rich flavor add a professional touch you simply can’t get from store-bought shortcuts, although no judgement if you do that — vanilla pudding is a great short cut.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Here's everything you'll need to make homemade pastry cream.
- Milk. Milk is the base of the pastry cream, whole milk works best for a rich pastry cream. Half and half can be substituted, avoid using 2 percent or low-fat milk.
- Egg yolks
- Sugar
- Corn starch. Thickens the pastry cream. For a thinner cream, use 2 tablespoons instead of 3. It is important to cook the pastry cream for an additional 1-2 minutes after thickening for the cornstarch to activate.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter. A couple tablespoons of butter make the pastry cream extra rich and creamy. If using salted butter, omit the addition of salt.
- Vanilla extract
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
Here's a look at the steps to making your own pastry cream at home.
- Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Heat milk.
- Whisk heated milk into egg mixture and cook to thicken.
- Strain pastry cream.
- Add butter and vanilla.
- Refrigerate with plastic wrap to set.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Yes, pastry cream is a type of custard, but it’s a specific kind of stirred custard. Unlike liquid custards, pastry cream is thickened with starch (usually cornstarch) which gives it a rich, pipeable consistency. This makes it perfect for filling cakes, pastries, and desserts where a thicker texture is needed.
Absolutely! While vanilla is classic, you can infuse pastry cream with chocolate, coffee, citrus zest, almond extract, or even liqueurs for variety.
Yes. Pastry cream can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store it in the refrigerator with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Homemade Pastry Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ sugar
- 3 tablespoon corn starch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Instructions
- Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until thoroughly combined and pale yellow in color.
- Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Slowly pour and whisk heated milk into the egg mixture.
- Return egg and milk mixture back to the pan; continue to whisk and cook over medium heat, until thickened and a few bubbles appear. Once bubbling, continue to cook 1-2 minutes longer, whisking.
- Strain pastry cream using a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Press pastry cream through the strainer with a spatula, removing lumps.
- Add butter and vanilla; stir to combine.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate at least 3 hours to set.
Notes
- Temper the eggs slowly: When adding hot milk or cream to the egg mixture, do it gradually while whisking constantly. This “tempering” step prevents the eggs from scrambling and ensures a smooth, lump-free cream.
- Whisk constantly while cooking: Pastry cream thickens quickly on the stove. Keep whisking as it cooks so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or form clumps. This also gives the cream its silky texture.
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