How to make Pastry Cream
A good pastry cream is a cornerstone of every pastry chef’s skill set, especially when it comes to producing top quality confectionery and patisserie. A pastry cream, or creme patissiere, is a thickened custard that is most notably found in items such as a mille feuille, filled brioche or a custard doughnut. Understanding how to make a perfect, glossy and smooth pastry cream will really help you to elevate your patisserie products, and can add a real elegance and depth to lots of baked goods. For those who like to be adventurous with flavour, there are many options you can use to add even more flavour to your pastry cream, some of our favourites being cinnamon, lemon and nuts. There are a huge amount of possibilities to explore, depending on your personal taste, all stemming from this super simple starter recipe.
Pastry Cream Ingredients
- 1 litre Milk
- 4 Egg yolks
- 1 Whole egg
- 65g Custard powder
- 200g Caster sugar
- 20g Soft unsalted butter
- 1 Vanilla pod
Pastry Cream Recipe
Add the milk and split vanilla pod to a saucepan and put onto the stove to heat up.
In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and custard powder. Once they are well mixed and any lumps have been broken down add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk well to form a smooth paste.
Once the milk has boiled, add a little to the egg and sugar mix to loosen it and then add all back into the pan with the rest of the milk and vanilla.
Put back on the stove on a medium heat until it starts to lightly boil and thicken. Make sure to keep stirring to prevent lumps forming.
Once it has thickened significantly, remove from the heat and add in your softened butter and mix through.
Pass the finished pastry cream through a fine sieve to remove any lumps that may have formed, as well as the remainder of the vanilla pod.
Cover the top with cling film, making sure the cling film touches the top to prevent a skin forming, then allow to cool before use. When wanting to use, simply knock back with a spatula to make sure it is soft and pipeable.