A good basic pastry cream recipe can be used for filling pies, tarts, cakes and many other desserts. Learn how to make a basic vanilla pastry cream and easily make other unique flavors from the same base recipe.

What is pastry cream or crème pâtissière?

Pastry cream or crème pâtissière is a type of custard, an egg mixture that thickens when heated. There are stirred custards, like my vanilla sauce (creme anglaise), starch bound custards and baked custards like creme brûlée and chocolate pots de creme.

Pastry cream is an example of a starch bound custard. The addition of corn starch acts as a thickening agent as the eggs, sugar and milk cook together. 

How do you use pastry cream?

It's used as the perfect filling for those shiny French fruit tarts you see in pastry cases, and for choux pastries such as creme puffs, éclairs, and many other French pastries.  More familiarly, you may have had it in Boston cream pie.

Combine pastry cream with whipped cream to make a crème légère and it can also be used for cake fillings. It's actually perfect for layering between a stack of French crepes to create an elegant crepe cake.

Mousseline cream is a combination of pastry cream and butter. It's what makes the filling so smooth in desserts like frasier cake and Paris-Brest. As you can tell, it's very versatile and the flavor possibilities are endless.

What is pastry cream made of?

A good basic pastry cream is just that- basic. There's no butter, no cream or half and half in the recipe. Just these basic ingredients: eggs, milk, sugar, and corn starch for thickening.

I have used a vanilla bean in this recipe for flavoring but if you plan on adding a different flavor that doesn't complement vanilla you can skip it. You can also stir in vanilla extract at the end of the cooking if you don't have a vanilla bean. I like to see the bean specks in the cream so I use real vanilla bean when it's available. For the milk, whole milk or 2 % milk both work, though whole milk is preferred for richness.

The tricky part is cooking it. If you do it right, your mixture will be smooth and creamy custard.  You need to have a good whisk, a towel and a strong arm. You will be constantly stirring so your eggs don't turn into a lumpy scramble!

The first time I made pastry cream, I was a bit flustered and it did turn into a scrambled mess. However, once you've done it a few times and remember to follow some rules, it takes no time at all and feels very easy.

How to Make French Pastry Cream

Having everything ready to go is the most important part of the process when making something that cooks fast such as pastry cream. The first thing you should do is have ingredients measured out with all your tools and bowls nearby.

Lay out an 18 inch piece of plastic wrap on a large sheet pan or on a heatproof surface. This is where you will transfer your hot pastry cream to cool.

Use a pot that is large enough to comfortably stir all the ingredients after thickening. In the large pot, add the milk and about half the sugar. Split the vanilla bean length wise and scrape out the seeds carefully. Add the seeds and the pod to the milk and heat over medium heat until it boils. Turn off the heat and remove the pods. 

While waiting for the milk to boil, whisk the yolks in an extra large bowl (one large enough to also hold the milk and stir). Add the corn starch and remaining sugar to the eggs and whisk immediately. Do not allow sugar to sit with eggs unmixed. Mix until it becomes smooth and pale yellow. 

VERY slowly pour the milk mixture into the eggs while whisking. It helps to have your bowl on a wet towel while whisking so it doesn't slip. Slowly adding hot milk to the eggs while stirring tempers the eggs and prevents them from cooking from the heat. Return the entire mixture to the large pot and heat over medium-high heat while continuously whisking.

After a few minutes, the mixture will thicken and begin to boil. Never stop stirring! Lower the heat to low-medium heat and let the mixture continue to boil for 2 minutes. Again, never stop stirring!

Let the pastry creme cool slightly then spread the pastry cream on the saran wrap and fold over the wrap so that it is covered. Be sure to get all the bean specks from the bottom of the pan.  Let it cool completely to room temperature.  Wrap and refrigerate unless using immediately.

Tips For Successful Pastry Cream:

• Mise en place is key! Having all your ingredients and tools ready is important because you have to work quickly to control the cooking of the pastry cream. You cannot stop once you have started. The only part not shown in the picture is the plastic wrap. You will need this to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the cream.
• Do not add sugar to eggs without immediately mixing. This dries out the yolks and makes it difficult to mix.
• Be sure to add the milk to the eggs very slowly while stirring. You don't want the hot milk to curdle the eggs.
• A damp towel will keep the bowl from slipping while you whisk the egg during the tempering process. 
• Constantly mix while the pastry cream is on the burner! This mixture burns easily. 
• If your finished pastry cream has small lumps in it, the eggs may have cooked in the process. Sometimes, straining the finished cream through a sieve to eliminate the small bits of eggs can save you from making another batch and is worth a try. 

Make Flavored Pastry Cream 

• Add flavored liqueurs to complement the other elements of your dessert. The liqueur can be added at the end of the process. I added Frangelico to the pastry cream filling of a chocolate hazelnut crepe cake. 
• You can also infuse the milk for flavor by boiling the milk with tea leaves, coffee beans, cinnamon sticks or other spices. Just remove them before adding the milk to the eggs. I recently made a fantastic basil pastry cream for mini strawberry tarts using this method.
• For chocolate pastry cream, add melted chocolate at the end of the cooking process.
• Try lemon zest or orange zest for a refreshing citrus taste in a classic fruit tart. 

Common Pastry Cream Substitutions

Can you make pastry cream without cornstarch? Cornstarch is what gives this pastry cream its thick, sliceable texture, so it's not optional in this recipe.

If you need a substitute, flour can work but you'll need about twice as much, and the texture will be slightly less silky. All purpose flour or a 1:1 swap of arrowroot starch are the most reliable substitutes.

Can you make pastry cream without eggs? No. Eggs (specifically the yolks) are what make this a custard. Without them you'd just have sweetened, thickened milk, which is closer to a pudding made with only starch.

If you're looking for an egg-free filling, mascarpone cream or a cream cheese filling are better options. See my post on fruit tart fillings for more details.

Does pastry cream need butter? This basic recipe doesn't use any butter at all. It's just eggs, milk, sugar, and cornstarch. Some richer variations add a small amount of butter at the end for extra silkiness, but it's not required for a classic pastry cream.

Can you make pastry cream without heavy cream? Yes, and the outcome is better when made entirely with milk as it is in this recipe. 

Can you use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean? You can substitute 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste or extract in place of the vanilla bean. Just stir them into the milk after boiling. 

More Pastry Cream Tips

Be aware that cooled pastry cream is not creamy. It's rubbery and must be re-mixed or "relaxed". I usually beat it with the paddle attachment on my electric mixer or whisk vigorously by hand. 

If you want to lighten the pastry cream (as shown in the first picture), fold whipped cream into your relaxed pastry cream. This gives it a much smoother, fluffier texture.

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