Pastry Cream (Creme Patissiere) (2024)

FAQs

Does crème pâtissière need to be refrigerated? ›

Once you have transferred the cooked creme patissiere to a bowl, press a damp piece of greaseproof paper, baking parchment or parchment paper on to the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let the creme patissiere cool slightly then wrap the bowl tightly with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and transfer to the fridge.

P.S. In case you're wondering what the difference is between Crème Pâtissière and custard (which the French refer to as Crème Anglaise), it's the cornflour. Officially, custard shouldn't contain cornflour. So basically, Crème Pâtissière (or pastry cream) is simply set custard.

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.

If your crème pâtissière isn't thick enough, the best solution is to let it cook for longer. Cornstarch should only be added when the crème pâtissière is boiling, while flour is not recommended at all.

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.

Pastry cream will keep for several days once refrigerated. You can reheat it in the microwave, whisk hard and it becomes spreadable again.

Don't panic when your cooled pastry cream will look rubbery – just give it a good whisk. As the pastry cream cools and sets, it can initially have a rubbery, gummy and slightly curdled appearance as you first start stirring it.

Pastry cream and lemon curd are custards, and should not sit out all day. Bring out a few hours before serving. Whipped cream cakes should stay refrigerated and come out no more than an hour before serving.

Creme Patissiere is pastry cream, a rich custard thickened with cornstarch or flour. Creme Diplomate is pastry cream mixed with whipped cream and sometimes added gelatine for stability (depending on the usage). Creme Chantilly is a French name for sweetened whipped cream with the addition of vanilla flavoring.

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.

Why add butter to pastry cream? ›

Bringing pastry cream to a bubble deactivates the yolk's starch-dissolving amylase. Finishing with butter adds shine and flavor.

If you're new to making pastry cream, use a low heat to cook the pastry cream. If the milk is “setting” at the bottom of the pan and creating scrambled-like lumps, then the heat is too high OR you're not mixing the custard fast enough and causing it to “set” too quickly.

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. Nobody wants that.

Pastry cream has flour or cornstarch added to it and, therefore, must come to a boil in order to cook out that starchy flavor. Because of this, pastry cream is quite a bit thicker and more pudding-like than anglaise.

The goal is to properly thicken the custard to achieve a consistency that is stiff, thick, and smooth, while remaining easy to pipe or spread. If the resulting pastry cream is too runny and loose, or overcooked and gritty, then we either fell short or overshot this essential step in the process.

Cream sauces can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to reduce to the consistency desired by the chef. Make sure you test the thickness of your sauce by tasting it every 10 minutes. This can help you prevent overcooking it.

You're not chilling your cream. Using room temperature cream is the cardinal sin of whipped creamery and the number one reason for whipped cream not thickening. If it reaches above 10°C, the fat inside the cream will not emulsify, meaning it can't hold the air particles which allow it to maintain fluffy peaks.