Classic Crème Pâtissière (Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling)

5 from 23 votes

Classic Crème Pâtissière (Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling)

A classic crème pâtissière (vanilla pastry cream filling) is a creamy custard that is the perfect filling for cakes, eclairs, donuts, and tarts. It has a silky smooth texture and delicious vanilla flavor.

Cook Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings:

Calories: 259kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

480 g Whole milk 3% fat
100 g Granulated sugar
80 g Egg yolk approx. yolk of 4-5 eggs
25 g Corn starch
25 g All purpose flour
2 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
55 g Unsalted butter 82% fat, room temperature soft butter

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a large enough bowl, using a Hand whisk, whisk together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes.
Whisk in the cornstarch, flour, and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated and have a smooth paste.
Heat milk in a saucepan on medium heat, then remove it as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is just simmering and not boiling.
Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a Hand whisk. This stage is effectively tempering the egg yolks and the mixture should already start to thicken slightly.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely, it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don't worry, just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy.
If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump free, creamy end result.
Add in room temperature, softened butter chunk by chunk, and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth adding the butter in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition.
The pastry cream needs to be completely cool before being used for desserts. Place the cream in a shallow bowl and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top.
Once cooled, you may need to whisk the pastry cream again to get a smooth texture. Do not overmix it, as it can get runny. Give it a few whisks until smooth. Use it to fill tarts, eclairs, cakes.
Any leftovers can be used refrigerated in an air-tight container for 2-3 days.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES:

Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
Good quality butter and pure vanilla extract are the heart of making pastry cream. Use high-quality 82% fat content European butter and the best quality vanilla you can access.
Make sure the butter is at room temperature before you begin. This normally takes around an hour out of the fridge.
Fresh, farm eggs will provide bright yellow colored pastry cream, while cheaper supermarket eggs will result in a pale cream.

TECHNIQUE NOTES:

Use a small/medium sized saucepan with good heat distribution to avoid burning the milk when making pastry cream.
Let the cream set in the fridge before using. It will further set as it cools into a silky, pipeable consistency.

Nutrition