This is my absolute FAVORITE, tried and true recipe for silky smooth, incredibly rich and creamy Pastry Cream.
This pastry cream is simple to make, remarkably stable, and comes out perfect every time. It's rich and thick enough to use as a filling for cream pies, layer cakes and layered pastries like the classic Napoleon dessert.
It's also creamy enough to easily pipe into pastries like eclairs and cream puffs.
Thanks to a bit of gelatin, this pastry cream will hold its own at room temperature for hours without breaking down, can be used inside baked pastries like hand pies, and can even be frozen.
What is Pastry Cream?
Pastry cream is a custard made with eggs, milk, sugar, and starch, that's thick enough to be used in a wide variety of pastries and desserts. And, there are few pastries in this world that really good pastry cream can't make even better.
Good pastry cream is silky smooth, flavorful, and more rich than sweet. It should be thick enough to hold its own between layers of cake or flaky pastry, or when pipped into doughnuts or spread into a tart or pie shell.
What's the difference between pastry cream and custard?
I feel like this is a tricky question that may have more to do with the area and culture in which you grew up than any sort of "technical" differentiation.
But, essentially, the word "custard" is used to describe any kind of dessert or dessert sauce that is thickened with eggs. Think of it as more as a broad category than any kind of specific food.
For example, here's a short list of dessert custards we all know and love:
Custard Sauces:
Custard sauces, like the kind typically poured over Irish Apple Cake, or the crème anglaise spooned over a rich Chocolate Soufflé, are quite thin and somewhat similar to the consistency of melted vanilla ice cream.
For that matter, many kinds of ice cream are technically custard desserts as well. Frozen custard style ice cream, and Italian Gelato, begin with a custard base that is essentially the same thing as crème anglaise.
Oven baked custards
Oven baked custards like Mexican Flan, Pots de Creme, Creme Brûlée, or Crustless Custard Tart are thick enough to be cut with a knife, while starch-thickened custards are similar in consistency to pudding.
The difference between Crème Pâtissière and American-style puddings
Crème Pâtissière and American-style puddings are both starch-thickened custards made from a simple mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, and flour or cornstarch.
So, there isn't actually a difference between pastry cream and custard. Pastry Cream IS a kind of custard.
How to Make Pastry Cream {and avoid some common problems}
In general, starch thickened custards like Pastry Cream rely on cornstarch or flour to create a thick, rich, pudding-like texture that can hold its own when used as a filling for a wide varieties of pastries and desserts.
Not only are starch-thickened custards thicker than custard sauces like crème anglaise, they are also more stable. This is because starch slows down protein coagulation, making the eggs more resistant to curdling.
Even still, there are three common pastry cream problems I wanted to overcome with this recipe:
- Pastry cream can become unstable and "break" (separate) if it gets too cold or sits out at room temperature for too long.
- Pastry cream has a tendency to curdle when baked inside a pastry.
- It's challenging to add enough thickener (cornstarch or flour) to pastry cream in order to create a pipe-able consistency that will hold its shape and not squeeze out from between the layers of cakes or pastries without ending up with a chalky texture and starchy taste.
Gelatin is the solution to many pastry cream problems
A little bit of gelatin added to pastry cream after cooking is the solution to so many difficulties with this custard.
The addition of gelatin creates a pastry cream that's thick and sturdy enough to hold up between layers of a flaky Napoleon, as a filling for a layer cake, or piped into chocolate eclairs, cream puffs (profiteroles) or banana cream cake.
Even better, gelatin will remain stable at room temperature and does not curdle when baked. 🙌
So, for example, you can confidently fill a wedding, birthday, or anniversary cake with pastry cream, even if you know it will need to sit out at room temperature for several hours, and NOT worry about the filling breaking down and turning to liquid mush inside your cake.
Or, as I have done many times, confidently serve lovely little amaretto custard and fruit tarts at a brunch open house, placing them on the serving table at 9am and know that they will still be perfectly sliceable at noon.
Can you add pasty cream to baked pastries?
Gelatin makes it possible to include crème pâtissière in baked desserts.
Say what??? Yes, it's true. Two of my favorite desserts of all time are filled with pastry cream BEFORE you bake them:
- Strawberries and Cream Pie includes a thick layer of pastry cream topped with fresh strawberry pie filling inside a flaky double pie crust. It's bright, and creamy, and absolutely screams summer and picnics and sunshine.
- Apple Butter and Pastry Cream Hand Pies. These buttery little hand pies are filled with almond pastry cream and apple butter. They are flaky, creamy, & packed with warm apple flavor.
For both of these desserts, I have received emails from skeptical bakers asking if I'm sure the pastry cream should be added before baking. It's a good question because usually the answer would be no.
In this case, thanks to the awesome properties of gelatin, the answer is YES! Try it. You'll see.
If you're going to use pastry cream in something that will be baked:
If you are going to use this pastry cream in a pastry or dessert that will be baked after filling, do NOT add the whipped cream.
This recipe instructs you to chill the cooked custard in the refrigerator for about three hours then beat in some whipped cream. The whipped cream lightens the pastry cream, giving it a lovely, airy texture, without interfering with it's sturdy, rich structure.
However, if you are going to use this pastry cream to fill a pie, or any other pastry that will be baked, it's important to leave out the addition of the whipped cream which could "melt" while baking.
Can you Freeze Pastry Cream?
According to the entire internet, you cannot freeze pastry cream. But, friends, I am here to tell you that you CAN, in fact, freeze this pastry cream because of one superstar ingredient: gelatin.
Yes, the recipe also includes cornstarch and freezing things thickened with cornstarch generally results in a gloppy, gluey mess. But, simply add some gelatin and you can freeze the pastry cream with abandon.
The consistency after it has thawed will still be perfectly creamy and delicious. It's magical. Here's how to freeze it:
- Freeze the filling BEFORE adding the whipped cream. Let the pastry cream cool in the refrigerator completely. Then, make sure it's in an air-tight container or a bowl that's well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, add the pastry cream to whipped cream as instructed in steps 10 and 11 of this recipe.
16 Popular Recipes that Use Pastry Cream:
- The Classic French Napoleon: The classic Napoleon Dessert (mille-feuille) includes flaky puff pastry layered with creamy vanilla pastry cream. It's one of those classic French pastries that exemplifies everything I love about French pastry - It's elegantly simple and deliciously indulgent.
- Cannoli Napoleon: This Cannoli Napoleon marries two delicious desserts, the Italian Cannoli and the French Napoleon, into one delicious, flaky, creamy pastry.
- Coconut Cream Cake: This coconut cake is light, tender, and exceptionally soft and fluffy. Filled with a super thick layer of coconut cream and covered in coconut buttercream, every bite is so rich and creamy it practically melts in your mouth.
- Extra Creamy Coconut Cream Pie: This Coconut Cream Pie, with its rich cream filling and buttery toasted almond crust, is the ultimate coconut lover's indulgence.
- Easy Homemade Doughnuts: This doughnut recipe can be used to make pretty much any kind of homemade doughnut you can imagine, including cream filled.
- Doughnut Holes Filled with Salted Caramel Pastry Cream: Tender yeast raised doughnut holes are filled with salted caramel pastry cream and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.
- Profiteroles {Cream Puffs}: Profiteroles (cream puffs) are buttery little balls of choux pastry (pâte à choux) baked until light, tender, and puffed up to form a hollow center. They are the perfect vessel for pastry cream, ice cream, whipped cream, all varieties of savory ingredients, or anything your imagination and taste buds, can dream up.
- Pasty Cream Filled Chocolate Eclairs: Eclairs are buttery logs of choux pastry (pâte à choux) baked until light, tender, and puffed up to form a hollow center that’s perfect for filling with luscious vanilla pastry cream and topping with a rich chocolate glaze.
- Mini Butterscotch Eclairs: These buttery little two-bite mini éclairs are bursting with butterscotch pastry cream and covered butterscotch sauce.
- Apple Butter and Pastry Cream Hand Pies: These buttery little hand pies are filled with almond pastry cream and apple butter. They are flaky, creamy, & packed with warm apple flavor.
- Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Mascarpone Cream: Olive Oil Cake is exceptionally moist and flavorful, with a fine, tender crumb that’s not too sweet and positively delicious. On it’s own, it’s one of my all-time favorite cakes, but split in half and filled with a thick layer of Lemon Mascarpone Pastry Cream takes it to a whole other level of YUM.
- Strawberries and Cream Pie: Vanilla pastry cream and fresh strawberry pie filling are layered inside a flaky pie crust for a strawberries & cream pie that is the perfect summer treat.
- Peaches and Cream Crepe Cake: This crepe cake includes layer upon layer of buttery crepes, vanilla pastry cream and fresh peaches, and is covered with a generous layer whipped cream and more fresh peaches.
- Amaretto Custard Blackberry Tarts: Buttery, flaky pasty crust is brushed with jam, filled with creamy amaretto custard, and topped with fresh blackberries for delicious individual fruit custard tarts that are simple, elegant, and delicious.
- Chocolate Cream Pie: This Chocolate Cream Pie is what happens when you take really good pastry cream, add copious amounts of bittersweet chocolate, spread all that rich, chocolate dreaminess into a crispy Toasted Almond Crust, and then top it with a mile-high layer of whipped cream.
- Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie: This Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie includes layers of chocolate pastry cream, vanilla rum custard, bananas, and whipped cream in a buttery vanilla wafer crust. It's incredibly rich, creamy, and indulgent without being overly sweet, and has been a favorite recipe in our family for years and years.
Pastry Cream is a Building Block Recipe
Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.
Click here for a step-by-step video about how to make this Pastry Cream Recipe.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe or leave a comment for me, or take a picture and tag it @ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
All-Time Favorite Pastry Cream
This is my absolute FAVORITE, tried and true recipe for silky smooth, perfect Vanilla Pastry Cream. It’s super simple, remarkably stable, and comes out perfect every time. It will hold its own at room temperature for hours without breaking down, bake it inside pastries like hand pies, and even freeze it.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoon (4.6g) unflavored gelatin
- 3 teaspoon (15ml) cold water
- 6 large egg yolks (*See note below for ideas about what to do with the egg whites.)
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 2 cups (474ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5g) salt
- 2 teaspoon pure (9.8) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream (*See note below if you are going to use this pastry cream in something that will be baked.)
Instructions
- In a small dish, stir the gelatin and water together to combine. There should be just enough water to moisten the gelatin, creating a rubbery paste. Set aside.
- Add the egg yolks and cornstarch to a medium size bowl and beat with a wire whisk to combine. Set the bowl on a kitchen towel somewhere close to the stovetop. (This will keep the bowl from sliding around on the counter when you whisk in the hot milk.)
- Set a 1 or 2 cup (240 - 480ml) heat proof measuring cup next to the stovetop, preferably one with a pourable spout.
- Add the milk, sugar, and salt to a 3-quart or larger heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until it barely begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour approximately 1 & ½ cups (360ml) of the hot milk into the glass measuring cup. Slowly pour the hot milk from the measuring cup into the egg yolks, pouring slowly, and whisking constantly. Then, pour everything back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. (You want to continue to heat the eggs slowly so they won’t scramble.)
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick and begins to boil.
- As soon as thickens to the consistency of pudding and barely begins to boil, remove from the heat and whisk for about 20 seconds longer. Pour the pastry cream into a bowl.
- Break the gelatin into small pieces, dropping them onto the hot pastry cream. Let stand for about 20 seconds to let the gelatin to melt, then stir until the gelatin is completely incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap over the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 48 hours. (*At this point, the pastry cream can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
- Using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. (*See note below if you are going to use this pastry cream in something that will be baked.)
- Remove the cooled pastry cream from the refrigerator and add to the whipped cream. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer to combine, about 1 minute. The pastry cream is now ready to use in any recipe.
Notes
- If you are going to use this pastry cream in something that will be baked, like this Strawberries and Cream Pie or Apple Hand Pies, DO NOT add the whipped cream.
- I like to stir the custard with a silicone spatula until the custard start to thicken so I can easily scrape along the corners of the pan. Once the custard begins to thicken, switch to a whisk and whisk vigorously.
- It's important to remove the pastry cream from the heat as soon as it thickens. This happens quickly; you'll be stirring and stirring, and the consistency will remain the same and then suddenly, it will thicken. When this begins to happen, whisk vigorously over the heat until the entire mixture is the consistency of pudding. Then remove it from the heat and continue to whisk for 20 seconds or so.
How to Freeze this Pastry Cream:
According to the entire internet, you cannot freeze pastry cream. But, friends, I am here to tell you that you CAN, in fact, freeze this pastry cream because of one superstar ingredient: gelatin.
Yes, the recipe also includes cornstarch and freezing things thickened with cornstarch generally results in a gloppy, gluey mess. But, simply add some gelatin and you can freeze the pastry cream with abandon. The consistency after it has thawed will still be perfectly creamy and delicious. It's magical.
- Freeze the filling BEFORE adding the whipped cream. Let the pastry cream cool in the refrigerator completely. Then, make sure it's in an air-tight container or a bowl that's well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, add the pastry cream to whipped cream as instructed in steps 10 and 11 of this recipe.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: ⅓ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 215Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 172mgSodium: 143mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 7g
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debbie says
Hi! I am wondering if a larger fruit tart will slice well with the added gelatin? Usually fruit tarts are sort of gloppy when sliced 🙂
Thanks!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Debbie! Yes! This pastry cream is perfect for sliceable tarts. The pastry cream is quite thick before adding the whipped cream (step #10). For sliceable tarts that will completely hold their shape, don't add the whipped cream at all. Or, just fold in a little bit of whipped cream, adding just enough to soften it slightly. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, if you use this in a tart, I'd love to hear how it works out for you! xo
Debbie says
Thank you SO MUCH for your quick response! I will, most certainly, report back!
Debbie says
Hi Rebecca - I made the pastry cream and because it was a bit too heavy for my tart, I risked adding some whipped cream to lighten it some (I stiffened the whipped cream with dry vanilla pudding mix so it's very stable). I added maybe a 1/4 cup once it was whipped.
It worked beautifully! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Perfect!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how this worked out for you! Now I really want to make a fruit tart! 🙂
Marie says
The custard set nicely in the fridge. The next day I added the ¾ cup whipped cream and poured in it the pie shell, topped with dr oetkers clear glazed strawberries. The following day the pastry cream was completely runny, although delicious. Served the tart with spoons in dessert bowls.
What did I do wrong?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Marie! First of all, good for you for rolling with the punches and serving the tart in bowls. It can be so disappointing when things we plan to serve for guests don't turn out like we hoped they would, but I'm sure your guests were still happy to have a delicious tart-in-a-bowl. 🙂
As to what went wrong, my guess is that juice from the strawberries or the glaze the strawberries were coated in might have melted into the pastry cream. I haven't ever used Dr Oetkers glaze, so I did a little bit of research and the Dr Oetkers website suggests chilling a custard fruit tart that has been glazed for only an hour before serving. While they don't caution about keeping a glazed tart longer than an hour, my guess is that it's best to brush the glaze on a custard fruit fairly soon before you plan to serve it.
I hope that helps! But, please let me know if you have any other questions or if you think the problem might have originated for another reason. xo
Michele says
Can't even read the ingredients as ads are blocking the first 2 ingredients. Reloaded and scrolled down THREE times so it's definitely your website. Really bummed as this recipe sounded awesome, I guess I'll never know. 🤷♀️
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Michele! Well, this bums me out too, in a really big way. I am so sorry to hear that your experience on the site was so poor. There should absolute not ever be ads blocking the recipe, or any of the content on the page. I have reached out to the ad company I work with and sent them your exact words, and will do my absolute best to get to the bottom of the issue and get it resolved. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment about this. Without your comment, I might not know there is an issue. In the meantime, I am going to send you an email with the recipe. Thanks again and my apologies! xo
Terry C says
Sure. I will definitely let you know. Serving this for a dinner party Thursday so I’ll be back in touch. Thanks so much for the quick response.
Terry C says
Hi, I’ve made this pastry cream before and it was wonderful. My husband just request egg nog cream. What do you think about substituting egg nog for the 2 cups milk? Thanks for your thoughts or suggestions for making this egg nog.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! I think substituting eggnog in this recipe is a fantastic idea! I do suggest cutting back the sugar slightly to account for the sugar that's in eggnog... maybe cut it back to 1/4 cup instead of the normal 1/2 cup. If you try this, would you let me know how it comes out for you?
Stacey says
Thank you for the recipe! OMG so good! I’m thinking of using it for different things and was wondering about replacing the vanilla with maybe bourbon and banana bits, or orange juice with orange zest or maple and bacon bits. If I do this should I leave out the vanilla or kinda do half vanilla and half other?
Thank you.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Stacey! I'm so happy to hear that you like this recipe! Every time I make it I have to force myself not to eat it all before it makes it to it's intended use. 🙂 You can add whatever flavoring you like in there. Just add flavorings slowly, bit by bit, so you can monitor the consistency - especially when adding liquids. There's a whole list of other recipes that use this pastry cream right before the recipe. In most of those recipes, I've added things like rum, amaretto, toasted coconut, and mashed banana. The cream holds up quite well to all sorts of delicious additions! Most of the time, I leave the vanilla in because vanilla accentuates and compliments most other flavors. But, if you're in doubt, simply spoon out a bit of pastry cream into a small bowl and add touches of whatever you want to flavor it with so you can taste it in small batches before committing to flavoring the whole bowl.
By the way - stealing your idea to add maple syrup and bacon bits. I'm thinking that the next time I make Apple Fritters, I just might take them ALL the way over the top and spoon maple bacon pastry cream over them.
xo
Vineeta says
Hi! On the topic of flavors, what is the best way to add in a rich fruit flavor? Can you mix in fruit pulp or would it be better in a curd form? I am trying to find a good Mango cream and a passion fruit cream for a cream tart recipe. Appreciate your advice
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Vinetta! Good question... I think using a fruit curd or jam would be your best bet. But, in a tart, you could also layer the pastry cream with fresh fruit and/or jam or preserves in the tart shell to add extra fruit flavor. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Sarah Gonsalves says
Hi!!
I’m totally new to cooking and baking and I’ve been trying to do more of it. I’ve been wanting Napoleons for ages now, but they’re no where to be found around town. So, I figured I’d make some! I just finished making the cream and it’s sitting in the fridge. It has such an eggy smell to it. I feel like I’ve done something wrong. When I added the milk and egg yolk mixture back into the pan to thicken, it never boiled, but it did get thick. I noticed right before it got thick that the bottom of the pan had some small chunks. Did I ruin it? 😫
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Sarah! No worries... I'm sure the pastry cream perfectly fine. Just proceed with the recipe, whipping the cream and beating the pastry cream into the whipped cream. After you've done that, taste it. If you think it needs a more pronounced vanilla flavor, feel free to add more. Please let me know if you have any more questions! And, will you keep me posted about how your Napoleons come out? xo