Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticcera Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is pastry cream made of? ›

Pastry cream is made of milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Is pastry cream the same as custard? Pastry cream is a type of custard, while custard is simply a liquid (often milk) thickened with eggs.

Runny pastry cream most often comes from undercooking the egg yolk mixture. If you remove it from the heat too soon, the amylase in the egg yolks won't break down and will prevent the cream from fully setting. If you find your crème pâtissière is too thin, return to heat and bring to a boil over medium heat to thicken.

Always cover your pastry cream with plastic wrap, letting the plastic wrap touch the top of the pastry cream to avoid the creation of any film on top. Store in a fridge for up to three days. You can also freeze the pastry cream for up to three weeks, but only if you are using flour in this recipe.

Refrigerate: Refrigerate the pastry cream until cool. It will continue to thicken as it chills, and should be ready to use within a few hours. If the cream ends up quite thick, whisk to loosen a bit before use.

When heated, the eggs in the mixture coagulate, thickening the cream to a velvety consistency. However, if the cream is heated for too long or at too high a temperature, the eggs can become overcooked, resulting in a curdled, unpleasant texture — or even scrambled eggs in your cream.

The cornstarch: This recipe makes a very firm pastry cream that, when chilled, cuts neatly — a particularly nice thing when you're using it for tarts and cakes. If you'd like a more fluid cream, use a little less cornstarch. The butter: The butter adds richness to the cream as well as body.

Bavarian cream and pastry cream are not the same. While both are custard-based fillings, Bavarian cream is lightened with whipped cream and set with gelatin, giving it a mousse-like texture, while pastry cream is a thick and creamy custard made with eggs, milk, sugar, and flour or cornstarch.

Also called Crème Pâtissière, this French staple is an important part of many desserts, like eclairs and fruit tarts. It is similar to vanilla pudding but much thicker (perfect for piping and filling Bavarian Cream Donuts!) It is made in 10 minutes and uses pantry staples: egg yolks, milk, and cornstarch.

Points to remember

Strain into a clean, heavy-bottomed pan and heat over a medium heat (be careful not to have the heat too high), stirring constantly until the mixture begins to steam and thicken. The custard is ready when you can draw a clean line through it on the back of a spoon, using your finger.

Pour the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 2. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip. The cream will start to get frothy, and then will begin to thicken (around the 2-3 minute mark).

When making pastry cream the best way to thicken is to use? ›

Cornstarch: this is used to thicken the pastry cream. The cream can be made with different amounts of cornstarch, depending on how thick you want the consistency. I definitely recommend a digital scale to measure this. Butter: I use salted butter for pastry cream since it's just a little but unsalted works fine too.

To avoid the dreaded fate of overcooked pastry cream, it's essential to exercise caution and precision throughout the cooking process. To help minimize the risk, keep a close eye on the temperature as it cooks. Use low to medium heat and stir continuously to prevent hot spots and ensure even cooking.