{"id":185819,"date":"2025-04-15T09:21:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T09:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/baking-category-a-b\/pastry-cream-filling-creme-patissiere\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T09:21:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T09:21:21","slug":"pastry-cream-filling-creme-patissiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=185819","title":{"rendered":"Pastry Cream Filling (Cr\u00e8me P\u00e2tissi\u00e8re)"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Pastry Cream<\/strong> is one of the most important building blocks of French pastry and can be made in less than 30 minutes. From cream puffs to eclairs, mille-feuille (Napolean pastry), fruit tarts and cake fillings like my American favorite Boston Cream Pie.<\/a> While basically a thick vanilla custard or pudding, it can be flavored almost any way you can think of.<\/p>\n

This is a deep dive into the fascinating French filling that serves so many purposes.<\/p>\n

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Swirls of Lightened Pastry Cream highlight an Orange Blossom Tart. <\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cooked on the stove using milk, sugar, egg yolks and a thickener, it becomes a thick, smooth and glossy vanilla pastry cream that is a blank canvas to be used in countless applications.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tBaking gets better when you subscribe<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Baking gets better when you subscribe to receive this PDF on getting the most out of baking including information on equipment, ingredients and baking equipment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For other uses for pastry cream please see: Double Banana Cream Pie<\/a>, Coconut Cream Pie,<\/a> Caramelized Peach Tart with Brown Sugar Crumble<\/a>, Banana Caramel Tarts with Rum Pastry Cream,<\/a> Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastries<\/a>, Coconut Cream Pie with a Difference<\/a>, and The Fruit Basket Cake.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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Why Make Pastry Cream <\/h2>\n

All pastry cream is not created equal<\/strong>. Some pastry creams will not survive freezing. This one will. Some have a starchy, off putting taste, this one doesn’t. Some are soft to the point they won’t hold a ridge when piped, this one will. Some pastry creams will not hold up at room temperature, this one will. I wanted to come up with a pastry cream that did everything I said and this one will.<\/p>\n

Bo Friberg, the noted PastryChef\/Instructor describes pastry cream in his book<\/strong>, The Professional Pastry Chef, as: “Making pastry cream is one of the basic techniques that anyone involved with cooking (pastry shop or otherwise) should master, because pastry cream has so many applications. In an emergency, it can be thinned and used as a sauce; it is a base for souffl\u00e9<\/em>, it is filling and flavoring for cakes; and it can be used as a topping for Danish or other pastries. In the pastry kitchen, there should always be a supply of pastry cream in the refrigerator.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Can it Freeze? Mine Can!<\/h2>\n

It depends upon the recipe. Most recipes specify cornstarch instead of the original thickener, flour, citing a pasty, floury after taste with which I agreed. However, cornstarch breaks down if frozen and thawed. So the answer is no if you’re using cornstarch as your starch.<\/p>\n

Because we froze many of the items we sold wholesale to restaurants, hotels and caterers, we needed to find an answer to this problem. What I ended up doing was cutting the flour way back and using gelatin to complete the thickening. As a result, this pastry cream freezes and thaws beautifully taking all the last minute work out of it and allowing us to sell desserts with pastry cream as a component. <\/p>\n

The gelatin serves two purposes. It held the pastry cream at room temperature plus when caterers and hotels plated desserts ahead of time it didn’t break down. So my recipe includes some flour and gelatin in proportions that make a smooth, rich pastry cream without a rubbery texture that either one alone can produce. <\/p>\n

Basic Ingredients<\/h2>\n

The basic ingredients for my pastry cream recipe include egg yolks, sugar, milk (whole or 2%), flour, gelatin and vanilla. Other flavors may be substituted. That’s it for mine. I have seen recipes that add a bit of butter although it is not one of the original ingredients and I don’t.<\/p>\n

What Cooking Pot to Use<\/h2>\n

It is important to make pastry cream in any pot other than aluminum or cast iron<\/strong> which can discolor the final result producing a grayish pastry cream that is not very appealing. <\/p>\n

Storing<\/h2>\n

After the pastry cream is made it should be covered directly which simply means placing plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream so it doesn’t form a skin. Poke a few holes in it. Cool to room temperature and then chill or freeze it. It will last about 5 days in the refrigerator or it will freeze for months if put in a freezer proof container. Thaw in the refrigerator to use. <\/p>\n

Flavors of Pastry Cream<\/h2>\n

Pastry Cream can be flavored many different ways including melted white, milk or dark chocolate, coffee, with liqueurs, citrus zest or any extracts, although vanilla remains the most common. souffl\u00e9<\/em> This is one place I recommend using really good vanilla<\/strong>. If you want to flavor yours like professionals, use tahitian vanilla<\/strong> with its light, floral essence.<\/p>\n

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Why You Should Make This Pastry Cream<\/h2>\n