Homemade Pastry Cream
Learn how to make homemade pastry cream to upgrade your Boston cream cake or enjoy it topped with berries for a rich, creamy dessert. Just 10 minutes of prep plus chill time, it's easy to make.
Servings 16
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
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.
