This vanilla bean pastry cream recipe is a perfect filling for cream puffs, tarts, pastries, cakes, and other delicious desserts!
Pastry cream or Creme Patisserie is such a simple and delicious dessert! Using both egg yolks and cornstarch as a thickener, it’s a tasty mix between a pudding and a custard.
It’s most commonly used as a filling for tarts, cream puffs, and cakes.
Ingredients
- Milk: For this recipe, whole milk is the way to go!
- Egg Yolks: While not necessary, free range pasture raised egg yolks make a big difference in the final flavor.
- Vanilla: Real vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste really takes vanilla pastry cream to the next level!
How to Make
Step 1: Heat Milk
In a saucepan bring milk, vanilla, and salt to a simmer over medium heat.
Step 2: Mix and Temper Egg Yolks
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch. It should be thick, creamy, and pale yellow.
While whisking, slowly add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture to temper it. This insures that the eggs don’t overcook and curdle.
Add the remaining milk mixture half a cup at a time, while continuously mixing. 
Step 3: Cook
Return to saucepan and cook over medium low heat a few minutes, until the mixture is thick and bubbling.
If adding butter, add one tablespoon at a time and mix until fully incorporated before adding the next.
Sometimes the butter separates a bit and makes the mixture greasy. If this happens, whisk continuously for a few minutes until it’s fully combined and cooled down a bit. It should recombine and no longer be greasy.
Step 4: Strain (optional)
Once everything if fully combined and slightly cooled, pour the mixture through a strainer into another bowl. This will make for a very smooth pastry cream and ensure there is no cooked egg in the mixture.
Step 5: Chill
Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the cream so it doesn’t get a film on top. Then chill until ready to use, at least two hours or overnight.
Tips and Tricks
- While not necessary, free range pasture raised egg yolks make a big difference in the final flavor of the Creme Patisserie and give it a lovely deep yellow color!
- Heat the milk until just simmering. If it’s too hot it can scorch the milk and overcook the egg yolks.
- Once you return the milk and egg mixture back to the stovetop, be sure to cook very slowly over low heat. If you cook too fast or over too high of heat it can cause the mixture to curdle or get lumpy.
- If the mixture does gets lumpy or curdle – no problem! Just be sure to strain out the lumps one or two times.
Storing Pastry Cream
Pastry cream will last 3-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Unfortunately, you can not freeze pastry cream as you will loose the creamy pudding like texture when it defrosts.
WANT TO JOIN THE PARTY? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest recipes!
Pastry Cream
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean or tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch of salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp butter optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan bring milk, vanilla, and salt to a simmer over medium heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch. It should be thick, creamy, and pale yellow.
- While whisking, slowly add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture to temper it. This insures that the eggs don’t overcook and curdle.
- Add the remaining milk mixture half a cup at a time, while continuously mixing.
- Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbling. If adding butter, add one tablespoon at a time and mix until fully incorporated before adding the next. Sometimes the butter separates a bit and makes the mixture greasy. If this happens, whisk continuously for a few minutes until it’s fully combined and cooled down a bit. It should recombine and no longer be greasy.
- Once everything if fully combined and slightly cooled, pour the mixture through a strainer into another bowl. This will make for a very smooth pastry cream and ensure there is no cooked egg in the mixture.
- Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the pastry cream so it doesn’t get a film on top.
- Then chill until ready to use, at least two hours or overnight.
Notes
- While not necessary, free range pasture raised egg yolks make a big difference in the final flavor and gives it a lovely deep yellow color!
- Heat the milk until just simmering. If it’s too hot it can scorch the milk and overcook the egg yolks.
- Once you return the milk and egg mixture back to the stovetop, be sure to cook very slowly over low heat. If you cook too fast or over too high of heat it can cause the mixture to curdle or get lumpy.
- If the mixture does get lumpy or curdle - no problem! Just be sure to strain out the lumps one or two times.
- This recipe last 3-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Leave a Reply