Pastry Cream Recipe (Crème Pâtissière)

Pastry cream is a foundational pastry recipe! Not only can you completely change the flavor of the custard by infusion or addition, but you can also change the flavor of a whole dessert! Crème Pâtissière can be found in so many desserts in different styles!

Use it as the filling for mille-feuilles, banana cream pies, and pithiviers (mixed with almond cream). You can lighten it with whipped cream for crème légère and use it as a filling for fruit tarts, eclairs, Boston cream pie, crème Chiboust, and so much more! If you finally broke down and bought some vanilla beans (trust me, you deserve it), try more vanilla bean recipes like crème anglaise, vanilla bean crème brûlée, vanilla bean ice cream, or vanilla bean marshmallows! Allow no vanilla bean to go to waste.

Professional Tips for Making Pastry Cream

• Divide the sugar between the boiling milk and the eggs. The sugar helps keep the milk from scorching and protects the eggs when tempering in the boiling milk. The amount that goes in each isn’t that serious; just measure once and then eyeball half in each!
• Grab your favorite whisk, and don’t stop stirring. We all know I have my favorite whisk, and I wouldn’t make pastry cream without it. Between blanchiring the eggs, tempering the eggs, and cooking the pastry cream, there is a lot of whisking! 
• A heavy-bottom pot will help prevent the milk from scorching. A heavy bottom pot will give you more control and add an extra layer of protection while waiting for the milk to boil. 
• Read the recipe, have all the equipment ready and ingredients scaled before starting. I like to be prepared when making stirred custards like pastry cream and lemon curd. They are easy but do require moving fluidly between steps.

FREE! My Best Fall Dessert Recipes!

Subscribe for a pastry chef’s best Fall recipes straight to your inbox!

First Name

Email *

Get the Guide!

Ingredients

• Whole Milk: Milk is the liquid in pastry cream. The fat adds flavor but isn’t essential like it is in some recipes, so feel free to use your favorite alternative or lower-fat milk. 
• Vanilla Bean: Vanilla beans are one of the most expensive ingredients on Earth, but they add an unmistakable flavor. Scrape out the seeds to use now and save the pods for infusing in ice cream, anglaise, or vanilla pudding. You can also make vanilla sugar with the pods.
• Sugar: Sugar has many functions in this recipe. It adds sweetness, protects the milk from scorching, and protects the eggs from the hot milk when tempering.
• Large eggs: The egg in a stirred custard is integral to thickening the custard. Whisking it first with the sugar protects it from the heat.
• Egg yolk: Egg yolks in a stirred custard are also thickeners like whole eggs, but they add more fat than whole eggs without the added moisture from the whites. This makes a thick, rich custard. Too many yolks will make the pastry cream taste “eggy.”
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is a thickener like eggs, and it helps bind all the ingredients together when cooked.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Flavor by infusion: Infuse the milk with whole spices like cinnamon sticks or cardamom seeds, or experiment with fresh ginger or lemongrass.  
• Flavor by adding ingredients: Another easy way to change the flavor of pastry cream is by adding ingredients at various stages. You can pour the hot pastry cream on chopped chocolate for an easy chocolate pastry cream, or you can add matcha powder to the milk prior to cooking like I did on Beat Bobby Flay to win the first round! Be mindful of ingredients you might have to strain out later, such as lemon zest for lemon pastry cream. I’d lean towards lemon juice instead! Use my easy lemon curd and caramel crème pâtissière recipe as inspiration! 
• Crème légère, diplomat, and mousseline: These creme alternatives are great for filling pastries, tarts, and cakes. Crème légère is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream that is used in my banana cream pie recipe. A crème diplomat is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and stabilized with gelatin, perfect for filling éclairs and tarts. Crème mousseline is pastry cream with whipped unsalted butter for a very silky and rich pastry filling that is perfect for layering in cakes like my classic vanilla cake.

How to Make Crème Pâtissière

Use these instructions to make perfectly smooth pastry cream every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Making Pastry Cream:

Step 1: Scale the milk and the sugar into a medium pot. 

Step 2: Split and scrape the seed from half a vanilla bean. Put the seeds in the milk mixture and whisk together. 

Step 3: Heat the milk mixture on medium heat until it comes to a boil. 

Step 4: While the milk is coming to a boil, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks to break up the proteins. Then blanchir the eggs with cornstarch. This means whisking the cornstarch and eggs together to lighten them and give them more protection for the tempering process. 

Step 5: Once the milk has come to a bowl time to temper it into the eggs. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the blanchired eggs while you continue to whisk the eggs. I prefer to pour all the milk into the eggs to ensure they are adequately tempered. 

Step 6: Pour the mixture back into the pot. Continue to cook on medium-low heat and whisk, ensuring you touch the bottom of the pan at all times and scraping the edges to prevent burning and clumping. 

Step 7: Cook the pastry cream until it has thickened and starts to boil. Once it starts to boil, set a timer or watch the clock for 1 minute and continue to whisk. It needs to boil for one minute to properly activate the cornstarch and to cook out the starch flavor and mouthfeel. 

Step 8: Pour the pastry cream onto a plastic-lined sheet tray or baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, poke a few holes, and cool completely in the refrigerator. 

How to prepare to use Creme Patissiere: 

Step 1: Before you use pastry cream, you need to “refresh it” or “condition” it. This means beating it so that it becomes smooth and silky. This will not remove lumps, but it will create a more pleasant product to eat and work with. 

Step 2: Place the desired amount of pastry cream in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. You don’t want to beat it too long, or the cornstarch will lose some of its hold. This can lead to loose, unruly fillings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed stirred custard recipes, or use it to fill inverse puff pastry next!