Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

Why this recipe works

• Flavor with fresh vanilla beans for a rich taste, or use other flavoring ideas to suit your needs
• Uses cornstarch for thickening - no floury aftertaste
• Can be used for filling cakes, tarts, and pastries, or serve as a gluten-free pudding

Classic French pastry cream (Crème Pâtissière, or creme pat, for short) is a thickened cooked custard, in the same family as ice cream and Crème Brûlée. In fact you can say that vanilla pastry cream is just a thicker version of vanilla custard (Crème Anglaise), as they share almost the same ingredients.

Making creme pat at home might seem daunting, but once you've mastered the technique, you have a delicious and versatile product that you can use in many different ways.

What you need

A pastry cream recipe consists of milk, egg yolks, sugar, and a thickener. It can be flavored to complement cask, pie, or pastry as desired.

Key ingredients

• Milk: Provides the basis for the dairy custard. If you want an even richer product, you can substitute up to ½ cup of heavy cream for some of the milk. You can also make a non dairy pastry cream by using your favorite dairy-free milk alternative.
• Egg yolks: Provides richness, flavor, and structure.
• Sugar: Besides a lovely sweetness, sugar helps modulate the thickening process so the yolks can cook without scrambling. You can reduce the amount of sugar by up to a half if you want less sweetness.
• Thickener: Cornstarch picks up the job of thickening from the yolks, taking it beyond a Crème Anglaise custard sauce to that of a sturdier filling with body. While some recipes include or exclusively use flour, cornstarch does the job without masking the taste of the finished product. Plus, using cornstarch makes this a gluten-free recipe.

Other ingredients

• Flavoring: Here we're using fresh vanilla beans to flavor the creme pat, but you can substitute vanilla extract if you prefer. See the Pro Tip below for other flavoring ideas.
• Butter: Although not strictly necessary for a classic French Crème Pâtissière recipe, butter adds shine and flavor.

How to make pastry cream

Step 1: Make the yolk mixture

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks briefly. Add the cornstarch and half of the sugar and whisk to combine (photo 1). Set aside.

Step 2: Heat the milk mixture

Whisk the milk and the remaining sugar together in a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture (if using), then add the vanilla bean pods (photo 2).

Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles form and it starts to steam, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3: Cook the custard

Gently heat the yolk mixture by slowly adding ¼ cup of the warmed milk mixture to the yolk mixture while continuously whisking. Add another ¼ cup of the milk and whisk again.

This process is called tempering the eggs, and its purpose is to prevent the yolks from curdling while the custard cooks.

Add the yolk mixture to the pan and cook, whisking constantly, until the custard is bubbling and thickened (photo 3).

Step 4: Strain the custard

Remove the custard from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl, removing the spent vanilla bean (photo 5). If the custard boiled during thickening, straining it out will help remove any curdled bits of egg.

Don’t toss that vanilla bean - instead rinse the bean, then place it in a jar and cover with vodka to make your own vanilla extract.

If you are using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, stir it in now along with the butter, if using. Stir until the butter melts, but don't over-mix, as this will thin the custard.

Step 5: Chill the custard

Cool the custard using an ice bath (½ ice cubes and ½ water), reaching halfway up the sides of the bowl (photo 6). Stir occasionally until it's cooled to room temperature (a digital thermometer should read about 80 to 85 °F).

Once cooled, place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard and refrigerate it in an airtight container until needed.

Pro Tip: Flavoring pastry cream

You can flavor creme pat to your liking. Here are some flavor variations you can try (from King Arthur Baking):

• Chocolate Pastry Cream: Omit the butter and stir in 1 cup (170 grams) chopped semisweet or dark chocolate after the custard has been strained, stirring until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Caramel Pastry Cream: Omit the butter and stir in ¾ cup (213 grams) chopped caramel after the custard has been strained, stirring until the caramel has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Orange Pastry Cream: Stir in 1 teaspoon orange extract, ¼ teaspoon orange oil or Fiori di Sicilia, or 3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest after the custard has been strained.

Uses for pastry cream

Crème Pâtissière is used as a pastry filling for cakes (it features prominently in Boston Cream Pie), fruit tarts, cream puffs (choux cream), and éclairs. It's also delicious in trifles or on its own as a rich gluten-free pudding.

Creme pat is also used as a base for other types of dessert creams. For example, Diplomat Cream (Crème Diplomate) is pastry cream mixed with sweetened whipped cream (aka Chantilly Cream or Crème Chantilly) and gelatin, for stability. Mousseline Cream (Crème Mousseline) is pastry cream mixed with whipped butter.

This versatile custard is the creamy center that holds our cakes and pastries together (literally), and it can be made easily at home. You'll be able to make a world of rich desserts, or have a quiet indulgence on a spoon. I'm all in for that!