Pastry Cream
A professional pastry chef’s vanilla Pastry Cream Recipe. Crème Pâtissière is one of the most versatile recipes in the pastry box! Use it to fill tarts, cream puffs, éclairs and more!
Servings: 16 people
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- ½ vanilla bean seeded
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup cornstarch
Instructions
Making Pastry Cream:
- Scale the milk and the sugar into a medium pot.
- Split and scrape the seed from half a vanilla bean. Put the seeds in the milk mixture and whisk together.
- Heat the milk mixture on medium heat until it comes to a boil.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Pastry Cream for Use:
- 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.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Yield: ~2.5 cups
Flavor Tips: If you don’t have vanilla beans on hand, you could use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. I suggest Neilson Massey for the substitution; I believe they have the best flavor.
Variations: Infuse your milk ahead of time with toasted almonds and add a little bit of almond extract to the blanched eggs for a delightful almond pastry cream.
Storage: Store the pastry cream flat on a plastic-lined baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg