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French Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

French pastry cream in a glass jar.
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French pastry cream (crème pâtissière) is a thick vanilla custard made from milk, egg yolks, sugar, and starch. Use it to fill tarts, cream puffs, and eclairs, or flavor it in dozens of ways.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons (75 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (25 g) cornstarch 
  • 3 tablespoons (25 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (500 ml) whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, cold (optional - see notes)
  • 1-2 gelatin sheets, bloom 200 (optional - see notes)

Instructions

  1. Using a flour sifter, sift all-purpose flour and cornstarch in a large bowl and place aside. Soak gelatin sheets in cold water for 10 minutes.
  2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites using an egg separator and place the yolks in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat it with a hand whisk for 20 seconds. Then add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk until the mixture is thick and whitish.
  3. Pour milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a knife, and add the seeds and the pod to the milk. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the milk to a boil over low heat to infuse the vanilla flavor.
  4. Discard the split vanilla bean. Remove the milk from the heat and slowly pour 2/3 of the milk over the yolk and sugar mixture to temper the eggs, then mix.  Pro tip: Pour the milk gradually and whisk constantly. Otherwise, the mixture might curdle and resemble sweet scrambled eggs. Just remember that egg yolks start to cook at about 140 to 158°F (60 to 70°C).
  5. Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the remaining milk and mix well. Return the saucepan to low-medium heat and stir vigorously with a hand whisk to prevent the cream from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  6. Cook the mixture over medium heat for 2 minutes until thickened. The cream is ready when it reaches 179°F (82°C), or up to 185°F (85°C) if checked with a cooking thermometer. Note: The cream should boil for 2 minutes. While wheat starch gelatinizes from 125 to 147°F (52 to 64°C) and cornstarch from 143 to 165°F (62 to 74°C), boiling is still necessary to thicken the cream. Also, boil for at least 1.5 minutes to sterilize the cream.
  7. Optionally, add the drained gelatine to the hot cream and mix until dissolved. Add very cold butter, cut into small pieces, and mix.
  8. Pass the cream through a fine sieve, pour it into a shallow dish, and cover with cling film in contact. The plastic wrap should touch the surface of the cream to prevent a crust from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  9. To use, whip the cold pastry cream with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or vigorously with a hand whisk. This will aerate the cream and restore its homogeneity and suppleness before using it.

Notes

  1. Omit gelatin and butter to make a classic pastry cream recipe to use as a base for other types of creams.
  2. Cook the cream over low to medium heat, stirring constantly against the bottom of the pan.
  3. Cover the cream with plastic wrap in contact with it to prevent skin from forming on the surface.
  4. The best way to speed up cooling is to use an ice bath. First, prepare a bowl with a sieve over an ice-water bath. Take the cream off the heat and pass it through the strainer into the chilled bowl. Then whisk the cream until it cools down.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/french-pastry-cream-creme-patissiere/