How to make vanilla pastry cream (2024)

FAQs

What is vanilla pastry cream made of? ›

At its most basic, pastry cream is a combination of milk, eggs, and starch that are cooked together to create a rich and thick custard that's a workhorse in the baker's kitchen.

Directions. Heat 2 cups milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat until simmering, about 5 minutes. Beat remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together in a bowl using a whisk until dissolved; add sugar and egg yolks and beat until smooth.

The more cornstarch you add, the thicker the pastry cream will be. For example, for diplomat cream, I prefer to add much more cornstarch for a thicker pastry cream that will still be stable after mixing with whipped cream.

Pastry cream is basically glorified vanilla pudding, but the best, richest vanilla pudding you've ever had. The texture is thicker and more luxurious, while the flavor is softer and tastes like real vanilla instead of something artificial.

Steps to Make It

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly, until well blended. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir with whisk to blend thoroughly.

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.

You haven't cooked it enough – cook it longer.

Remember, you need to cook the pastry cream until it's thickened and it comes to a boil, and then cook it for about one minute longer.

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 main difference between vanilla and French vanilla ice cream is the addition of egg yolks in French vanilla ice cream. This gives French vanilla ice cream a richer, creamier texture and more complex vanilla flavor. Vanilla ice cream, on the other hand, has a simpler flavor and a lighter texture.

Just 1 percent of the world's vanilla flavoring is “real.” The rest is imitation.

What is French vanilla cream made of? ›

WATER, SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (HIGH OLEIC SOYBEAN AND/OR HIGH OLEIC CANOLA), AND LESS THAN 2% OF MICELLAR CASEIN (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, CARRAGEENAN.

To store: As Crème Pâtissière contains eggs and milk, it can't be left out at room temperature.

If you notice lumps beginning to form in a custard, immediately pour it out of the hot pot into a bowl and pulse it with a handheld blender in five-second intervals until it is nearly smooth. This can take from 15 to 45 seconds, depending on how big the lumps are.

Although overheating a typical custard can lead to curdling, it's vital to bring pastry cream almost to a boil. Doing so sets the eggs and activates the starch, thereby ensuring a proper consistency.

Put simply, pastry cream is a type of custard. Adding cornstarch to the vanilla custard will give you a thick, firm substance (almost like vanilla pudding) that will hold its shape when piped. Custard that you can pour, which is only thickened with eggs, is actually called crème anglaise.

A small amount of starch is needed to thicken the cream: I used corn starch (Maizena) which is available practically everywhere. You can also use other starches like rice starch, but please don't use flour: it might form lumps more easily, it is heavier and might leave a bad after taste.

Pastry cream delivers in flavor — sweet and custard-like — but lacks lightness. Whipped cream is as light as it comes but doesn't have much flavor or stability.

Choux Pastry can be used in anything from cream puffs, profiteroles, and eclairs to churros, croquembouche, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, and gougères! It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and the options for filling and shaping are endless.