A simple yet delicious recipe for Creme Patissiere (Vanilla Pastry Cream) – a rich, creamy custard used in many types of dessert! This recipe is gluten free, and also dairy free friendly. If you’re looking for chocolate pastry cream, you can find that recipe right here.
Learn how to make rich, creamy Vanilla Pastry Cream from scratch!
Pastry Cream (or Creme Patissiere) is a quintessential part of pastry making, so it’s an essential skill to learn if you love baking, pastries, and dessert. Creme patissiere is basically a delicious, rich, creamy custard thickened with starch and eggs. It’s an important component for many desserts.
What is pastry cream (creme patissiere) used for?
- It’s used to fill classic profiteroles and sometimes cream puffs
- To fill chocolate eclairs
- As filling for cakes, like Boston cream pie
- Filling for fruit tarts
- To make mille feuille
- To make vanilla pudding or chocolate pudding
The egg mix – whisk the eggs, with the cornstarch, vanilla and sugar before adding the hot milk.
If you’ve never made creme patissiere (vanilla pastry cream) before, you should definitely try it. It’s such an easy and delicious recipe with a lot of great uses.
There is some confusion about custard-based desserts and their terminology, so I’m going to clear that up before I get into the pastry cream recipe.
Creme Anglaise is a pouring custard. A runny version of pastry cream. It isn’t typically thickened with a starch (although some use a little cornstarch to avoid scrambling), and usually only uses eggs/egg yolks. It’s like a thick sauce that can be poured over desserts. This custard isn’t heated to a boil to avoid the eggs from curdling.
Creme Chantilly is lightly whipped cream sweetened with sugar and (usually) flavored with vanilla.
Creme Patissiere is a thicker custard. It’s thickened using starch and eggs/egg yolks and can be piped. It’s mostly used to fill pastries and other desserts. Pastry cream is heated to a boil, so that it thickens well. Because of the starch, the eggs don’t curdle readily.
Creme Legere is pastry cream (creme patissiere) with sweetened and flavored whipped cream (chantilly) added. Most people call this creme diplomat as well.
Creme Diplomat is creme patissiere mixed with chantilly, gelatine and any extra flavorings (optional). It’s basically creme legere made with stabilized whipped cream.
Creme Bavarois is a dessert on its own. It’s like panna cotta, but made with creme patissiere. It’s creme patissiere mixed with chantilly, but with extra gelatine (so that it sets like a pudding) and extra flavorings.
Creme Patisserie is the base for all these pastry essentials, so I hope you give this recipe a go!
While the pastry cream is cooling, cover it with plastic wrap that is touching the entire surface. This ensures that the creme patissiere will not form a skin.
Is this recipe gluten free?
This pastry cream recipe is gluten free, because I use cornstarch instead of flour to thicken it. Some pastry cream recipes use flour, or both flour and cornstarch, but that’s not necessary. I also find that using cornstarch alone makes the pastry cream less likely to taste floury, which is a problem you encounter with pastry cream made with flour.
How to make dairy free pastry cream
If you’d like to make this recipe dairy free, substitute the milk with a plant-based milk like almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk or even soy milk.
What kind of vanilla is best to use for this recipe
Since vanilla is the key flavoring in this pastry cream recipe, PLEASE make sure you use good quality vanilla. It’s the one flavoring that I never skimp out on. Use a good vanilla extract and try to avoid vanilla essence (usually imitation flavor), and if you can use vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans, even better.
The importance of eggs
Eggs play two roles in creme patissiere (pastry cream). It adds richness (especially the yolks), and also thickens the custard as well. I use large eggs in this recipe, where an egg weighs 2 oz / 57 g on average. So if you’re using different sized eggs, you can adjust accordingly. But a little extra egg (or egg yolk) won’t mess up your pastry cream.
I use 3 large egg yolks, plus 1 large egg for this recipe. This pastry cream is delicious and spreadable and pipeable (isn’t too stiff). If you want a RICHER tasting pastry cream then I like to use 6 large egg yolks instead. This version is slightly thicker because of the extra egg yolks.
I personally don’t like my pastry cream to be too sweet. So I only add 6 tbsp (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) of sugar for every 2 cups of milk. Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your taste.
Cooking tips to make sure you get perfect creme patissiere (pastry cream) each time.
The first step is to heat the milk.
Some recipes call to scald the milk, which isn’t necessary if you’re using pasteurized milk. However, if you’re using fresh vanilla beans, scalding the milk with the vanilla and letting it cool down a little will allow the vanilla to infuse into the milk. I heat the milk until almost to a boil, so that it speeds up the process of dissolving the sugar and thickening.
Make sure to mix the eggs, cornstarch and sugar together in a separate bowl until you have a nice smooth paste.
This ensures that you have NO LUMPS in the cornstarch, and the sugar and eggs will form a thick paste which will mix in better with the milk. But don’t do this ahead of time. Only mix it together a few minutes before adding the milk. Otherwise the eggs will cook in the sugar.
Be careful when tempering the eggs with the hot milk.
If you’re a beginner, you could get someone to help you whisk the egg mix, while you pour the hot milk in a thin stream to temper the eggs. Another way to temper the eggs is to keep the bowl with the egg-sugar mix on a tea towel (to prevent slipping), and pour the hot milk from a light and small measuring cup (light enough to control with one hand). This makes it easier to whisk the egg mix with one hand and pour hot milk with the other.
Keep whisking and mixing the pastry cream while cooking.
It’s important to keep the milk-egg mix moving while it’s being heated. The milk will curdle when it comes closer to the boiling point, and we do NOT want that! Use a whisk and a spatula to make sure the pastry cream stays smooth. If you feel that the creme patissiere is heating up too fast, remove it from the heat periodically while stirring.
Bring the vanilla pastry cream to a boil.
Unlike other custards, pastry cream needs to be brought to a boil. The cornstarch will cook well, and you won’t be left with a starchy flavor too. The heat allows the eggs to form strong protein bonds, and the starch in the cornstarch expands, forming starch bonds that really thicken and stabilize the pastry cream. While stirring, allow the pastry cream to come to a boil and then let it cook further for about 1 – 2 minute at low-medium heat.
Strain the pastry cream.
It’s not necessary to strain the creme patissiere unless it’s lumpy. BUT it’s still a good extra measure to make sure the creme patissiere is silky smooth.
Cooling down the pastry cream.
Once the pastry cream is cooked, it needs to cool down completely. To allow the pastry cream to cool down quickly, spread it in a large bowl or shallow pan, so that the custard layer is fairly shallow. Make sure to cover the ENTIRE SURFACE with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface too.
Common creme patissiere mistakes
My pastry cream is lumpy
This happens if you’ve heated the pastry cream at too high of a temperature or you didn’t stir it well when it was coming to a boil. Don’t worry though, whisk it REALLY well to get rid of the lumps (off the heat), or if that doesn’t work, pass it through a sieve as soon as you’ve cooked it.
My pastry cream is too thin.
This happens if you haven’t cooked the pastry cream properly. This recipe makes a pastry cream that is spreadable and pipeable, but it’s not stiff enough to hold its shape. If you did want a stiffer and thicker vanilla pastry cream, you can increase the amount of cornstarch.
My pastry cream is too thick.
Chances are you added too much cornstarch. If you really compacted the cornstarch into your measuring spoon, or used an incorrect measuring spoon, this can happen. You can fold in a little stabilized chantilly cream to loosen up the pastry cream to make it the right consistency – like a creme diplomat.
My pastry cream has discolored (looks grey)
If you used an aluminium pot to make the custard, chances are that some of that aluminium can get into the pastry cream. Use a stainless steel pot, a copper pot or a non-stick pot.
Storing pastry cream
Never keep the vanilla pastry cream outside. It’s made with milk and eggs that go bad when un-refrigerated. The pastry cream will go bad if stored at room temperature.
Pastry cream cannot be frozen for later. The reason is that the starch and protein bonds that thicken the creme patissiere will break down when frozen. And as the pastry cream thaws out, it will weep and create too much moisture, making it runny, ruining the consistency.
The best way to store pastry cream is in the fridge, in an air-tight container, with a piece of plastic wrap covering the entire surface of the pastry cream. Pastry cream will last about 3 – 4 days in the fridge. This means you can make vanilla pastry cream ahead of time for your recipes too.
Other pastry cream variations
You can now make chocolate creme patissiere (chocolate pastry cream) too!
Or a lighter, sweeter salted caramel diplomat cream instead.
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Creme Patissiere
Creamy vanilla pastry cream, used in many types of dessert. Perfect for profiteroles and eclairs. This recipe is gluten free, and also dairy free friendly.
There is inactive time in this recipe to allow the creme pattisiere to chill, about 2 hours - overnight. Make this the day before it's required, so that it's completely chilled by the time you need it.
In this recipe
1 tbsp = 15mL
1 cup = 240mL
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 6 tbsp sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch (cornflour) (3 tbsp / 30 g for a stiffer pastry cream)
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste / extract / 1 vanilla bean pod
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg (please see notes)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter softened
Instructions
If using vanilla bean pods, split the bean and scrape the vanilla seeds/caviar out of the beans.
Add the bean and caviar with the milk into a saucepan. Heat the milk over medium high heat and bring it to a simmer, almost to a boil.
While the milk is being heated, place the sugar, egg and yolks, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Whisk until you have a thick, smooth mix. (If you are using vanilla bean paste or extract, add it to the egg mix too). Place the bowl with the egg mix on a towel or napkin (to prevent the bowl from slipping while whisking, in the next step), and set aside until the milk comes to a boil.
As soon as the milk starts to bubble, remove it from the heat. Slowly pour about a 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 1 - 2 minutes.
While whisking, let the custard come to a boil (the custard will release bubbles). Lower the heat and cook for a further 1-2 minutes after you see the first bubbles break the surface. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Whisk in the butter, until it’s completely mixed in.
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 pastry cream has been chilled.
Recipe Notes
- For a richer vanilla creme patissiere, you can substitute the whole egg with 3 egg yolks (6 egg yolks in total).
- For a dairy-free version, substitute the milk with a plant-based milk like almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk or even soy milk.
Hi, can I substitute cornstarch to custard powder?
Hi Nayla!
I wouldn’t know how much custard powder would properly substitute the amount of cornstarch needed for this recipe. I personally prefer not to use custard powder because I don’t really like the flavor of it. But you could try different amounts of the powder to see how much is needed to thicken the pastry cream.
Hello Dini
I want to make a pistachio birthday cake but instead of cream cheese filing as the recipe instructed I want to use custard cream. Can I use this recipe or do you think it won’t work.
Thank you
Joanna
Hi Joanna
I have had some readers use this as a filling for cakes, but the thicker version is more suitable. You may need to use extra cornstarch to make it thicker so it would be sturdy enough as a cake filling.
I hope that helps!
Cheers,
Dini
Hi Dini!
how long can I keep these in the fridge before it goes bad or lose the texture/flavour? 1 week?
and do i have to whisk it further after taking out from the fridge?
Hi Kong,
I don’t like to keep pastry cream in the fridge for too long. The longest I usually keep it is 3 days, at most 5 days. It has eggs and milks, so it can go bad if kept too long.
The pastry cream will set when kept in the fridge, so once you take it out, whisk it gently to make it smooth again before using. Hope that helps!
First time attempting a pastry cream. Came out great thanks to these amazingly clear instructions! Thank you!
Marvelous and easy recipe/instructions. It’s so delicious!
Thank you Jen! So glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Thanks for this awesome recipe! I made a dairy free version with a can of coconut milk and it turned out amazingly good. I did the 6 egg yolks to be sure it would be thick enough. So delicious. Thanks for such clear directions that helped make this first attempt a success.
Thank you so much for letting me know Jennifer! I’m glad the dairy free version came out well for you, and the directions helped! 🙂
HI,
Recipe looks great ! Just wondering if I can use the creme patissiere for filling a sponge cake ? I am making a birthday cake for a friend and wanted something new for filling. Also, can I make this the day before and keep in the fridge ? or the texture will change ?
Thanks a lot,
Menna
Hi Menna!
You can, but you may need it to be stiffer, so I would use the second measurement of cornstarch. I have had other readers who have used it as a filling and have had great results! You do have to make the pastry cream the day before and store it in the fridge as the pastry cream needs to chill completely before being used. You can let it chill for 24 hours without an issue. It will be at it’s thickest consistency when it is chilled. Hope that helps 🙂
Yes you can
Hi. My pastry cream is a bit thin but not runny, is there a way I can make this thicker like speadable?
My choux pastry came out perfect by the way!
Hi Kristine
I was just wondering if you made the pastry cream from this recipe here? In the recipe I noted that if you do want a thicker pastry cream to add 3 tbsp of cornstarch. If you added less than that, then the pastry cream maybe runnier than spreadable. If you do want it to be even thicker, then you’d need to dissolve more cornstarch in a little milk to create a cornstarch slurry, and add the slurry until you feel like you have a thick enough pastry cream. You could start with just 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch and add more if necessary. However, remember that cornstarch needs to be cooked for at least 1 minute to remove the starchy taste, and pastry cream thickens as it cools down too! Hope that helps!
Was a little loose with cornstarch measurement (I wanted something between the 2.5 and 3). Not super sweet which is great for the grilled peaches (and cream) I’m using it for- for any other application I might add another tablespoon or two (it is to taste after all). Used 1 1/2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup heavy whipping out of curiosity and it came out great. I’ve had trouble with pastry cream (and creme anglaise and the like) in the past due to lack of clarity of instruction, but the level of detail here was perfect. Thank you so much!!
Thank you so much for letting me know Kai! So glad it came out well for you, and you liked the recipe! 🙂
Is adding butter necessary? What kind of difference does it make?
Hi Sylvia
Butter is not necessary, but it does add a richness and a shine to it.
Hope that helps!
Hi. Could I use half fresh cream and half milk for a creamer texture?
Hi Yuvika!
Absolutely! It will definitely make it creamier and richer. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Hello
When you say milk is it whole milk, 2 %, 1% or skim. I presume whole full fat milk.
Glenn
Hi Glenn, you can use 2% or whole milk. It does taste better with whole milk, so that’s what I’d recommend. Hope that helps!
Hi, what would happen if I kept the egg whites in the recipe? How would to texture/consistency/taste of the pastry cream turn out?
Thank you!
As well, if I wanted to use this as a filling to a crepe cake instead of whipped cream, would that be recommended? I was thinking of replacing sugar with maple syrup, would that affect the result?
Hi Cairo!
If you add the extra egg whites, then the pastry cream can be runnier. The more yolks added, the thicker the pastry cream. I also wouldn’t recommend making a crepe cake with pastry cream because it would make the cake too rich. You could lighten the pastry cream with some whipped cream if you like, so it would be richer than whipped cream but not as heavy as using just pastry cream.
You can use maple syrup instead of sugar as well, but you would use less maple syrup (because it’s sweeter than sugar). I would only use about 4 tbsp (or 1/4 cup) of maple syrup.
Hope that helps!
Wow!! Your instructions were perfect and I just made a flawless creme patissiere. Thank you so much for the incredible step by step and those tips are priceless.
Where have you been all my life?!
Haha, thank you so much for letting me know Isabelle! Glad it came out perfectly for you!
Do u have you tube channel?
Hi Treeza
I do have a youtube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/theflavorbender 🙂
If i wanted to make the pastry cream flavored. Like instead of vanilla do maybe peanut butter. Is that possible?
Hi Cynthia!
You can make PB pastry cream, but unfortunately I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t be sure of the consistency. I would start by substituting 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the milk with a similar amount of peanut butter. The resulting pastry cream will be thicker because of the PB too.
Hey I was wanting to make a matcha version of this and was wondering how I could incorporate that in.
Hi Gypsy!
You can add matcha powder to the eggs, and whisk it all together to make sure there are no lumps. But, you can also whisk the matcha into the milk before heating it too. Both methods will work as long as the matcha is not lumpy. I would use about 2 – 3 tsp of matcha (a little more than what is mentioned by the manufacturer) to get a bold matcha flavor in the pastry cream.
Hope that helps!
What if I wanted to do a flavored pastry cream…like say a mango pastry cream….where would you add the mango puree and do you need to change the amount of milk going into it? Thanks!!!
Hi Anne
I usually would replace some of the milk with the fruit puree that I add. However, each fruit can be different. For berries, I like to add about 1/3 of a cup of puree, and I add it at the same time as I would add the eggs to the milk.
Mango does lose some of its flavor when it’s cooked, so you may only get a milder flavored mango pastry cream. Unfortunately I haven’t made this pastry cream with mango before, so I cannot be certain.
Hi, is it possible to replace cornstarch with agar agar or gelatin? If so, how many tsp? Thanks
Hi Connie
Unfortunately, you cannot replace the cornstarch with gelatin or agar agar. Cornstarch is a stabilizer and a thickener, but gelatin/agar agar will not do the same in this recipe. You could replace the cornstarch with double the amount of flour instead (5 tbsp). Hope that helps!
Thanks for your quick reply. In that case, what other replacements (eg arrowroot flour?) can i use instead of cornstarch? Thanks
Hi Connie!
I haven’t used other types of starch other than cornstarch and AP flour for this recipe (if I ever wanted to skip the cornstarch in this recipe, I would simply double the amount of AP flour). I can’t be sure how well it would work with arrowroot flour or other starches. Personally I wouldn’t recommend it, because arrowroot flour will mostly likely change the texture of the custard.
Great recipe, made a delicious cream! I just had a quick question, I used this creme patissiere to make creme legere to use in my profiteroles (I like a slightly lighter filling than straight pastry cream). I made the standard recipe and added 1/2 c heavy whipping cream that had been whipped stiff. While delicious, this creme legere ended up a bit runny, should I have used less whipping cream or do you think I did something wrong with the creme patisserie?
(also, quick tip, I used the leftover egg whites from this recipe to make French Macarons! Good way to make the most of your ingredients!)
Hi Zoe!
I’m so glad that you liked this recipe!
There are a few things you can do to avoid the pastry cream from becoming too runny when you mix it with whipping cream. The pastry cream recipe here is still fairly stable on its own, but with the addition of whipped cream it can become runny.
I actually made salted caramel diplomat cream where I mixed pastry cream with stabilized chantilly cream. You can follow that same technique with this vanilla pastry cream recipe as well.
I hope that helps!
Cheers,
Dini
Goodness me! You are (must be!) a beautiful person to so willingly share what you tried, what works/ed, and why.
Thank you sooo very much for being THAT BEAUTIFUL person to do so.
I was looking for both, choux “dilemmas” and a really good fillings. You’ve covered BOTH!
P.S. I tried (both) and all turned out just great!
Thank you so much for your lovely words Ela! I’m so glad both recipes turned out well for you! 🙂
Fantastic! There is no need to change anything it came out perfectly just as written, thank you!
-Adrienne
So glad it came out perfectly for you Adrienne! 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know!
This is undoubtably the best pastry cream recipe I have ever made, thickness was perfect, flavor outstanding, all around fantastic!
If you wanted to make coffee pastry cream. Woyld you add the coffee to the milk and how much
Hi Trista
I would use instant coffee granules to flavor my pastry cream. I personally love a strong coffee flavor, so can add upto 3 tsp of instant coffee into my pastry cream, and will increase the sugar amount a little too (8 – 9 tbsp).
If you prefer a lighter coffee flavor, I would start with 2 tsp of instant coffee first, and increase it if you like more.
I hope that helps!
Hey Dini! So excited to try this recipe with my leftover tools after my botched meringue experiment. Was wondring if you had a recipe for creme diplomat?
Hi Jasmine!
Thank you! I hope you do enjoy the pastry cream 🙂 I don’t currently have a recipe for creme diplomat, but I do want to add one soon!
How long can this be kept at room temperature?
Hi Melissa,
Since pastry cream has eggs and milk in it, I wouldn’t recommend keeping it at room temperature unless you’re serving it right away. I only let it cool down to room temperature and immediately place it in the fridge. If you do need to keep it at room temperature, it shouldn’t be kept for no longer than 2 hours. Hope that helps.
Hi, can this be used for vanilla slice? Would you just us a little extra cornstarch to make it stay in place more. Thank you
Yes you can Christina! But you definitely will need to make it thicker with cornstarch! I’m not sure how much extra to add, maybe another 10g extra? If you do find it too thick, you can add a little whipped cream to lighten it up (if you choose!)
You definitely made me want to make some vanilla slices now too! 🙂
Hi! What do you mean by place the egg mix on top of a towel or napkin (to prevent it from slipping)? Egg mix drenched in towel? Sorry I could not visualise. Can you elaborate?
Hi Florence,
Sorry about the confusion. What it means is to place the bowl with the egg mix on a towel or napkin. This is to prevent the bowl from slipping while you’re whisking the egg mix in the next step. I have re-worded that step in the recipe to make it clearer. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks Dini for the clarification! I should have thought you meant it this way.
Thank you! Just made this for creme puffs and it worked perfectly (after a few alarming lumps started forming at the end but it wasn’t the typical curdling). I used a hand mixer to smooth it out and added rum for an extra euro kick. Have used my mum’s recipe before that called for flour but my husband always managed to taste it so this is perfect, no complaints at all. Yay!
Thanks so much for letting me know Lenka! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Love the addition of rum. 🙂
Hi, this is very similar to the recipe I use to make my pastry creme. Something I do as I’m pouring it out of the pot is run it through a sieve then whisk it in the bowl before I cover it. It ensures a velvet creme and catches any tiny lumps that may have formed. I also use 6 egg yolks because I like the richness…I save the whites and make coconut macaroons with them.
Hi, do you use the same qt but with 6 egg yolks? I am making pavlova so I will have 6 egg yolks leftover
Thanks
Mira
I have tried this several times, using all the same ingredients and, cooking it at minimal time and it keeps curdling, looking like scrambled eggs. How do I fix this problem.
Hi Cara!
It sounds like you’re adding hot milk into the eggs too quickly, or the pastry cream is being cooked on too high of a heat. Does it curdle when you’re cooking the pastry cream, or when you add the milk to the eggs?
If it’s when you add the milk to the eggs, then I recommend adding the milk just a little at a time. If it’s when you’re cooking the pastry cream, then I would recommend cooking this on a lower heat setting and to whisk the mixture continuously with a whisk and a spatula so that you prevent the custard from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the custard looks like it’s heating too much, you can remove the saucepan from the heat from time to time while whisking it.
Another option is to use a bain-marie so that the custard is cooked with indirect heat and has less of a chance of curdling. This will increase the cooking time, but should reduce the chances of curdling.
Let me know how it turns out! I hope that helps 🙂
This turned out delicious when I tried it, thank you for the recipe! I added 1tsp Nutmeg and Cinnamon for a fuller flavor, and it was to die for.
Can I bake this in a tart shell? Or is it a bad idea to bake it again, after its cooked?
Hi Kyrie!
I’m so glad it came out well, and I love the addition of nutmeg and cinnamon! Such a great suggestion 🙂
I haven’t baked the custard before, so I’m not sure how it will turn out. I don’t think it would “set” because it’s already cooked. But if you did want to use it in a custard tart, I would recommend baking the shell first and filling the baked tart shell with the prepared pastry cream. I have done this before and it’s really good!
I hope that helps!
You can bake it. It’s close to the creme brulee recipe I use. But if you’re going to bake it. I really suggest a list heat oven and a small pan of water inside the oven to keep it moist. With a pastry shell I’m not sure a bain Marie would work.
could it be flavored with lemon and how
Hi Sondra,
Yes – I would add about 2 – 3 tsp of lemon zest to this recipe. I wouldn’t add lemon juice though, because that can curdle the milk. I hope that helps!
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe for a fruit tart for my husband’s birthday. Is this recipe enough for a 9 inch pie pan?
Hi Edwina,
This recipe makes at least 2 cups (maybe about 2.5 cups) of pastry cream. I haven’t used it to fill a 9 inch tart, but I think it should be plenty for a shallow 9 inch tart. I would make extra, and use the unused pastry cream for a different recipe (vanilla pudding, custard and berries, custard and jello etc.). I hope that helps!
Cheers
Dini
Please please can I have the measurements by weight for this recipe? I’m in Australia, so the UK and American standard measurements are not the same here! Thank you so much
Hi Hailey,
The recipe has been fixed to reflect measurements used in Australia. Just click on METRIC measurements for AUS tablespoon measurement. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
My husband is a 3CK; and he happens to be gluten free which leads me to making an egg white fry batter tonight that yields orphan egg yolks. Thanks so much for your post.
hey just a quick question. can i replace corn starch with cornflour? we dont have corn starch around here 🙁
Hi aleena,
Yes, cornflour is actually the same as cornstarch! They are just different names used in different parts of the world for the same product.
How could I make this stable enough for a cake filling?
Hi Aurielle!
I don’t have a recipe that is specific for a cake filler unfortunately. You could add extra cornstarch or egg yolks to make it stiffer, OR you can add some gelatin to help it set. I haven’t tried this, so I can’t comment on how much extra you should add.
What I have done in the past is that I’ve used a stiff buttercream and lined the edge of the cake layer with the buttercream, and a little in the middle (with the buttercream in a pastry bag, using a large round tip). Then I fill the middle with pastry cream and put the other cake layer on top. The buttercream keeps the cake stable and the pastry cream is still creamy inside.
I hope that helps!
I used this recipe to fill my banana pudding cakes and it complimented my banana flavored cakes perfectly. There were even sliced bananas in them and it held up well. I lined the layer with buttercream and filled it with the pastry cream and bananas. Thanks for the recipe Dini
Hello
I need help
Everytime i make the creme patissiere
After i cool it down it curdle
Why
Hi Luke!
The only reason why a pastry cream would curdle is if it was over cooked. This could mean that you cooked the pastry cream too long, or at too high of a temperature, causing the eggs to curdle.
The cornstarch can lower the chances of curdling, but it doesn’t prevent the custard from curdling if the heat is too high, or if it is cooked for too long.
I hope that helps.
Hi Dini,
This recipe for creme pat looks wonderful. I’m planning this for profiteroles and want to make some fruit flavors of the creme. I was wondering if I should use fruit puree or preserves, and also how much I should add. Also, is it possible to leave out the butter?
Cheers!
Hi Lily!
To add fruit puree to the custard, I remove an equal amount of the liquid and replace it with the fruit puree (about 1/4 – 1/3 cup). The butter is not essential, so you can definitely leave it out if you prefer 🙂
I hope that helps!
Hi Dini,
This recipe looks great! If I wanted to flavor the custard with honey, how much would you recommend adding to the egg yolk mixture? Does it significantly change the consistency?
Thanks!
Hi Simone!
I haven’t tried this myself, but I would add about 4 tbsp of honey (1/4 cup) instead of the sugar, for one batch of this recipe. The honey obviously adds more liquid to the recipe, but I’m hoping that additional liquid is too little to actually affect the consistency. But for future reference in case it makes it a little too liquidy, you can try adding about 2 tbsp less milk or a touch more cornstarch (or 1 more egg yolk) to compensate and thicken the custard.
However, if you’re doubling or tripling this recipe with additional honey, then it will most likely significantly affect the consistency and you may have to compensate for it as I’ve mentioned above. I hope that helps!
Hi! Congrats for your blog! I’m brasilian (sorry bad english) patisserie lover, and I would like to know if can I make fruit mousse whit a pastry cream base. Can I use juice instead milk, and add a meringue? I tried this, but the juice separated from the mousse and drained to the bottom of the bowl…
What could be wrong? If I add gelatin, can I maintain the stability and texture of the mousse? Thank you very much!
how long will this keep in the fridge? i’d like to make large batches for use within 7-10 days.
Hi Michelle!
I don’t store pastry cream for more than 4 – 5 days when I make it because it’s an egg and dairy product. I would recommend making the pastry cream closer to the day that you need to use it 🙂
Have tried a number of recipes for creme patissiere but this recipe is so much better than the others. I think the difference may be down to using all cornflour and no standard flour. Added a 100 mls of whipped double cream to the cooled custard, the result was a beautiful smooth creme patissiere. Thank you for sharing
Hi Rosie,
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m really glad that you liked the recipe! 🙂
Cheers,
Dini
What temperature should the eggs, butter, milk and water be? Also, should I use a hand whisk or does the whisk attachment in my food processor work? (I can’t whisk that fast by hand alone)
Hi Yasmeen
It doesn’t matter what temperature the ingredients are at, because they will all be cooked anyway (I didn’t use water in the recipe though). The only exception is the butter, which should be softened at room temperature so it will mix in properly.
I only ever use the hand whisk, since it’s only used to stir the custard. You don’t have to whisk too fast, it just has to be consistent to prevent the milk or eggs from curdling or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
You could use the whisk attachment with a hand mixer on the lowest speed if you must, but I wouldn’t recommend the food processor, since the whisking is done while the custard is being cooked.
Hope that helps!
Would any fat content milk work for this, or do you recommend one in particular? We usually drink 1% in our house, but I know that 2% or 3.5% is often better for most recipes. Thanks!
Hi Melanie! The rule of thumb is that the higher the fat content the richer the creme patissiere will taste. I usually do go with whole milk, but I have used 2% as well. I avoid 1% when I make and custard based desserts, but only because I prefer to use milk with a higher fat content for custards (since it tastes better). That being said, for this recipe, there is no reason why you can’t use 1% milk! 🙂
I hope that helps!
Hello is there a substitute for butter? Would margarine work? Just you offered dairy free but only substituted the milk, maybe butter isn’t dairy though? IDK lol
Hi Dayna! Yes you can use margerine as the DF alternative 🙂 I have made this without the butter as well and it still tastes really good!
Absolutely perfect creme pat recipe!! Your directions are extremely clear and very helpful. I used this to fill choux buns for a croquembouche. It was perfect and set up very easily. This will be my go-to creme pat from now on!