An easy and delicious recipe for Chocolate Creme Patissiere (Chocolate Pastry Cream)! A rich, creamy custard with deep chocolate flavor. This recipe is gluten free and dairy free friendly.
Just like my classic creme patissiere (pastry cream) recipe, this too is a type of custard dessert that can be used as a base for many other dessert recipes!
Check out my recipe here for a basic vanilla creme patissiere.
Learning how to make pastry cream is a basic skill that any type of baking requires, because Pastry Cream is the basis for many desserts.
I’ve talked about all of that and covered the basic tips and the recipe for vanilla creme patissiere (vanilla pastry cream). and my detailed guide on custard desserts.
Here, I’m sharing the recipe for Chocolate Creme Patissiere (Chocolate Pastry Cream), perfect for chocolate pudding, chocolate eclair, profiteroles, and other pastry recipes. This pastry cream features quite often in many classic French pastries and desserts.
I have used both cocoa powder as well as bittersweet chocolate to make to make this chocolate pastry cream. The cocoa powder adds a deep chocolate flavor, while bittersweet chocolate enhances that flavor.
The cocoa butter in bittersweet chocolate makes the chocolate creme patissiere richer. So the combination of the two types of chocolate ensures that your chocolate pastry cream has great depth of chocolate flavor as well as creamy richness.
Because of the bittersweet chocolate in the pastry cream, this recipe yields a slightly thicker chocolate pastry cream than its vanilla counterpart which I previously shared.
That’s due to the cocoa butter in it, which is a solid at room temperature. I also add extra milk (compared to the classic, vanilla pastry cream) to keep the custard creamy and smooth.
I also made something quite similar to chocolate creme patissiere in this no bake chocolate pudding pie. The filling for that pie is a chocolate pudding which is basically a chocolate creme pat, BUT richer (with more egg yolks and butter), and made with more chocolate and no cocoa powder.
You can use either of these two recipes for chocolate pudding. The chocolate creme patissiere that I’m sharing here is thicker and therefore can be piped on or used to fill any type of pastry.
It’s perfect for trifles (like this chocolate brownie trifle), chocolate cream puffs (profiteroles filled with chocolate pastry cream), eclairs, and even no bake pies.
And with a few additional ingredients, you can transform your chocolate creme pat into other delicious flavors as well.
This chocolate pastry cream recipe is the base of mocha pastry cream, bourbon/rum chocolate pastry cream, cinnamon chocolate pastry cream, and jaffa pastry cream (chocolate orange pastry ream). All of these variations are included in the recipe below.
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Chocolate creme patissiere (Chocolate pastry cream)
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups milk (Or a plant based milk like coconut or almond)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tbsp butter, softened (Or vegan butter)
Instructions:
- Add the milk and vanilla into a saucepan. Heat the milk over medium high heat and bring it to a boil.
- While the milk is being heated, place the sugar, egg and yolks, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk until you have a thick, smooth mix. Place this egg mix on a towel or napkin (to prevent it from slipping), and then set it aside until the milk comes to a boil.
- As soon as the milk starts to boil, remove it from the heat. Slowly pour about one half of the hot milk in a thin stream, into the egg mix, WHILE WHISKING CONSTANTLY to temper the egg mix. When the eggs have been tempered, add the egg mix back into the hot milk in the saucepan.
- Heat the custard base, over medium heat, while whisking vigorously until it starts to thicken – this should take about 2 – 5 minutes (depending on the heat level).
- While whisking, let the custard release some bubbles (come to a boil gently). When the first bubbles break the surface, lower the heat to low and immediately add the bittersweet chocolate chips. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter. Whisk in the butter, until that too is completely mixed into the custard.
- Pour the custard into a bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface. This is to prevent a custard skin from forming on top.
- Let the custard cool down to room temperature and then let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, until it’s completely chilled.
- Use as needed after the chocolate pastry cream has been chilled. You may need to whisk the pastry cream to make it smooth again before use.
Tips & Tricks
- For a richer creme patissiere, you can substitute the whole egg with 3 egg yolks (6 egg yolks in total).
- For a thicker consistency add only 2 US cups (480 mL) milk. This consitency is even thicker and is good for piping shapes that are stiffer than this recipe.
- Mocha Pastry Cream – Instead of the vanilla (or in addition to the vanilla) – add ½ tsp of instant coffee granules. Allow the instant coffee to dissolve in the milk and then proceed with the recipe.
- Bourbon Chocolate Pastry Cream – Use ¼ cup less of the milk/half and half for the custard. Add 3 tbsp of bourbon along with the butter and whisk it in until well mixed with the custard.
- Jaffa Pastry Cream – Add 1 tsp orange extract along with the vanilla extract and then proceed with the recipe.
- Cinnamon Chocolate Pastry Cream – Add ½ tsp cinnamon along with the vanilla into the milk and then proceed with the recipe.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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Sarah Daniels says
Hi In your post you talk about cocoa butter giving the creme a thicker consistency but I can’t see it in the recipe.
Dini says
Hi Sarah
I mentioned in the post that the cocoa butter is in the chocolate that is used. Which is what makes this pastry cream richer and thicker.
Claire M. says
Hello! I was curious if I could bake this into a brioche braid as I do with normal vanilla pastry cream? Or will the chocolate seize?
Dini says
Hi Claire
Chocolate will only seize if you’re using 100% melted chocolate, and water is mixed into it.
In this recipe, the chocolate is melted and mixed into the custard base – so it won’t “seize” in the traditional sense.
However, you may notice that when vanilla pastry cream is baked, it becomes thicker and may even “set” as the liquid dries out in the custard. The same will happen to this as well, especially given that chocolate pastry cream is thicker than vanilla pastry cream.
I hope that helps!
Ben says
Hi, your title says vegan but the egg yolks…
Is there a substitute you can recommend for the egg yolks?
Dini says
Hi Ben
I’m not sure where my recipe states that it’s vegan. Could you direct me to where I have mentioned this?
Unfortunately this recipe isn’t vegan due to the eggs.
You can still make vegan pastry cream by using cornstarch as a thickener and using plant based milk, but it would be difficult for me to recommend how much cornstarch to use to get the same consistency. I recommend following a vegan pastry cream recipe for correct amounts.
Vanessa says
Great base for the filling I used in my Swiss roll cake! I added stabilized whipped cream and chocolate flavored rum, it was excellent!
Michele says
Just made this recipe to use inside my grandsons birthday cake and, OMG! I CANT STOP EATING IT. I hope I have enough left for his cake. absolutely delicious!
Rabiya Moin says
Hi Dini! I absolutely lovee making this recipe. It’s easy and turns out perfectly luscious every time. I wanted to ask if it can be stored for longer (in the freezer)? If so, how?
If not, could you tell me how to halve this recipe? As it uses 3 egg yolks and 1 egg, I’m not able to figure out how to make a smaller batch. Thanks!
Andrew Milam says
I dont know why the recipe doesnt call for only egg yolks to begin with. And yes, I do want it thicker… what else would you use a weaker pastry cream for? I could just make pudding. Which is was just happened… thanks
Dini says
Hi Andrew
I’m not sure what happened, but this is a REALLY thick pastry cream. It sets completely while cooling and needs to be whisked to make it pipeable again. I usually add some whipped cream to lighten it up as well.
If it didn’t thicken up for you, it could be because the corn starch wasn’t cooked enough to thicken the pastry cream. This recipe already uses 3 egg yolks as well.
vicky litchford says
I use this recipe all the time! I like to mix in whipped cream to lighten up the texture when I put it in cream puffs. With or without it though, it’s delicious!
Dini says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe Vicky, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Deb says
Easy and delicious!! A keeper.
Bud Carlson says
Great Recipe
Nisa says
Hi Dini, first of all thanks for the recipe!
I want to ask if I want to make a diplomat creme from this recipe, how much ratio between chocolate pastry cream and chantilly cream should I mix? Thank you!
Dini says
Hi Nisa
The amount of chantilly cream really depends on preference. Some add as little as 1/2 cup of heavy cream whipped, while some add more.
I usually add about 1/2 cup of heavy cream, per every cup of milk I use to make pastry cream. So for this recipe, I might add about 3/4 – 1 cup of heavy cream that I will then whip into chantilly.
Also diplomat cream requires gelatin to stabilize as well, so I make stabilized whipped cream (with gelatin). I’ve talked about how I make diplomat cream with my vanilla pastry cream here.
Hope that helps
Nisa says
Thank you for the prompt response.
Yes, the thing is I’m a vegetarian thus can’t consume gelatin. I’m hoping it’s possible to make a diplomat creme using the thick chocolate pastry cream from this recipe, with additional whipped cream. Do you think it’s possible to make diplomat creme without gelatin?
Dini says
Hi Nisa
It depends on what you will be using the diplomat cream for.
Gelatin is added so that the diplomat cream sets with some structure, and the chantilly cream won’t weep when being kept for a few days.
It’s possible that the chocolate in the pastry cream could prevent weeping, but I can’t be 100% sure.
If you are consuming it within 24 hours, it should be fine, but hopefully the richness/thickness of the chocolate will also keep it stable too.
Good luck!
Sarit says
I’m kosher so gelatine in a milk dish is out.
You can use carrageenan or agar agar
Aimee says
This tastes great, but you absolutely can NOT pipe it into eclairs/cream puffs unless you’re using a really wide tip, it’s just too thick. Trying to fill cream puffs with this stuff broke my Wilton Dessert Decorator thing this morning.
Dini says
Hi Aimee
I’m not sure what happened, as this is the same pastry cream that I use to pipe into my eclairs that you can see here.
And the recipe works perfectly as written for that purpose.
But if the pastry cream is overcooked, it can become stiff.
Hope that helps
Danilyn Bacanggoy says
loved this recipe!
Natalie H. says
I came across this recipe, and it looks PERFECT for the chocolate swirled Cruffins I am going to make a test run of.
I wanted to see if by cocoa powder you mean the natural cocoa powder you would find at the store, like Hershey’s brand. I also wanted to ask, can dutch processed cocoa powder be substituted instead of the natural cocoa powder for a deeper, more intense flavor? I know you have to be very very careful on swapping those two.
Thank you so much in advance!
Dini says
Hi Natalie
I use Calleaut cocoa powder (or Cacao Barry cocoa powder). This is dutched cocoa powder.
However you can use any cocoa powder that you prefer as long as it is weighed, and not measured by volume. I find that some natural cocoa powders packs in tighter than dutch cocoa.
Since this is not a baking recipe (and there is no baking soda), the cocoa powder won’t have an effect on final outcome (other than flavor)!
I hope that helps!
Natalie Hutchinson says
This was actually pretty easy. The only mention I would make is to have EVERYTHING ready prior to heating the milk. I made that mistake thinking I could cut my chocolate up while the milk was heating and ended up scorching my first pan. Lol It went great the second time around. It’s beautiful, thick, and rich and oh so decadent!
kathleen stevens says
Can’t wait to make this