• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Vintage Kitchen Vixen

  • ABOUT
    • Meet Sylvia
    • Privacy Policy
  • RECIPES
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Cast Iron Cooking
    • Traditional Recipes
  • Old-Fashioned Skills
    • Baking
    • Culinary Know-How
    • Gardening
    • Fermenting
    • Foraging
    • Frugal Living

Pastry Cream for Beginners

June 4, 2019 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

Sharing is caring!

138 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Pastry cream is a breeze to make, but most people shrug their shoulders and pick up a box of instant vanilla pudding instead. Not in this kitchen! Ditch the box and learn how to make your own pastry cream from scratch.

vanilla pastry cream from scratch

WHAT IS PASTRY CREAM?

I realize that not everyone goes around calling it pastry cream.

The French call it crème pâtissière and the popular North American term is pudding, but in my circle, it’s called pastry cream, so that’s what I’m going with.

It’s a simple concoction of milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.

Some recipes call for butter to give it an added richness, but it’s completely optional.

PASTRY CREAM RECIPE VIDEO

If this is your first time visiting the kitchen, you’re about to find out why I call my kitchen vintage… If you like my style, please consider subscribing to the Vintage Kitchen Vixen YouTube channel!

This article may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to purchase something after clicking on one of the links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

BYE, BYE INSTANT PUDDING!

Pudding is basically pastry cream, and once you learn how to make it yourself, you won’t want to go back. We’re going to do something that I like doing quite a bit in the grocery store, which is looking at an ingredients label. Let’s take a look at what a popular pudding brand puts in their instant mix, shall we?

  • Sugar
  • Modified Cornstarch
  • Sodium Phosphates (these are salts)
  • Salt
  • Artificial Flavour (What, really? I'm shocked.)
  • Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
  • Xanthan Gum (used for thickening)
  • Mono- and Diglycerides (to extend the shelf life)
  • Colour (contains tartrazine, which gives it that nice yellow colouring)

YUM! Why would anyone want to taint their milk with that? Another question. Why would anyone want to eat that?

Okay, now let’s compare that ghastly ingredient list to mine:

  • Sugar (you can use raw, organic sugar if you'd like)
  • Eggs (mostly yolks)
  • Cornstarch
  • Homemade vanilla extract (or storebought extract, vanilla bean, or vanilla bean paste)
homemade vanilla extract for pastry cream pudding custard

KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE, SWEETHEART)

Instant pudding’s best selling point is that it’s easy and convenient. Just add milk, whisk it together, and voila!

True, there’s a bit more elbow grease involved in making your own from scratch, but it’s simple, I promise.

I’ll take you through it step-by-step below, but here’s a rough overview: heat the milk; beat the eggs, sugar and cornstarch; add the vanilla to the simmering milk; add half the milk to the egg mixture to temper, and then whisk everything together in the pot until it thickens.

Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Easy peasy!

What you get is something pure and infinitely more satisfying and delicious, especially if you beat in a bit of butter at the end.

WHAT CAN I USE PASTRY CREAM FOR?

At the end of the day, this is vanilla pudding–or chocolate, or coffee, or whatever flavour you fancy–so you can eat it as is.

Serve it in bowls with a dollop of whipped cream and a handful of fresh berries for an effortless dessert, or consider some of these possibilities.

LAYER IT IN A TRIFLE

Find a large glass serving bowl and layer it with lady fingers (these can be soaked in coffee, liqueur, or strawberry juice), and alternate with layers of berries, pastry cream and whipped cream.

fruit tart with homemade vanilla pastry cream

FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Bake yourself some sweet pie shells, coat them in a thin layer of chocolate, and fill them with pastry cream.

The chocolate is a delightful surprise for people who aren’t expecting it, and it also prevents the shell from getting soggy.

Decorate with your choice of fresh fruit: berries, grapes, kiwis, starfruit, apricots, and pineapple are terrific options.

RELATED: Sweet Pie Dough

RELATED: Buttery Pie Dough

DOUGHNUTS

Use it as a filling. Boston cream doughnuts, anyone?

CHOUX PASTRY

If you’re lucky to have choux pastry shells lurking in your freezer, this dessert is a breeze to make.

If you have some extra time on your hands, you can learn how to make your own shells for eclairs and profiteroles.

Fill eclair shells with pastry cream and dip them in chocolate.

Sprinkle the profiteroles with icing sugar and watch them disappear before your eyes.

chocolate eclairs and cream puffs with vanilla pastry cream made from scratch

VARIOUS CAKES AND PASTRIES

There are so many classic cake recipes that call for pastry cream. Let’s take a look at a quick list:

  • Boston Cream Pie
  • Gâteau St-Honoré
  • Mille-feuille
  • Ponche Segoviano

USE IT TO MAKE OTHER TYPES OF PASTRY CREAMS

Pastry cream doesn’t need to be accepted as is. It can be lightened and turned into other creams that are used in French pastry.

  • Chiboost Cream: the love child of when pastry cream meets Italian meringue.
  • Crème Légère–better known as Diplomat Cream–is a combination of stabilized whipped cream and pastry cream. Whipped cream weeps if it's not stabilized, so gelatine helps it keep its structural integrity.
  • Mousseline Cream: what you get when you whip pastry cream with butter.

CAN I FLAVOUR MY PASTRY CREAM?

Pastry cream is versatile and can be flavoured with chocolate, coffee, fruit, liqueurs, and spices to suit your needs. Here are a few options:

CHOCOLATE

Whisk in a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder along with the eggs, sugar and cornstarch. At the very end, once the pastry cream has thickened, stir in a cup (150g) of chopped bittersweet chocolate until everything’s incorporated.

COFFEE

Mix in 3 teaspoons of instant coffee granules either with or in place of the vanilla. To balance it out, add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the recipe.

FRUITY

Swap out 1/3 cup of the milk with fruit puree. Add it to the milk along with the tempered egg mixture.

MATCHA

Whisk in 2 or 3 teaspoons of Matcha powder to the egg mixture, ensuring there are no lumps.

SPICED

Add 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for a warm, full flavour.

INGREDIENTS FOR VANILLA PASTRY CREAM

2 cups (484g) whole milk

1 tbsp (13g) vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup (100g) sugar

3 eggs yolks

1 egg, whole

1/4 cup (30g) corn starch

2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter (optional)

PASTRY CREAM INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Whisk the yolks, egg, sugar and corn starch together in a large bowl.
  2. Slowly bring the milk to a simmer and add the vanilla.
  3. Pour half of the hot milk in with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
  4. Transfer the egg mixture to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.
  5. Once thickened, remove from heat. If you want to add butter, stir it in now.
  6. Transfer to a bowl and immediately cover with saran wrap to keep a film from forming.

PRO TIPS

  • Use an immersion blender to get the smoothest possible finish once the pot comes off the stove.
  • For faster cooling, transfer the pastry cream to a tray or cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap.
  • Pastry cream firms up when it's cool. To get back the smooth finish, put your stand mixer to work for a minute or two with a paddle attachment.
  • Avoid using an aluminum pot if you don't want your pastry cream to have a grey tinge.
  • Never freeze pastry cream and be sure to use it within four days.
  • Don't throw out your egg whites! Start a container in your fridge and save them up to make a meringue or an egg white omelet. Waste not, want not, that's my motto!

PRINT PASTRY CREAM RECIPE

tart with pastry cream filling

Vanilla Pastry Cream

Ditch the box of instant pudding and make your own from scratch instead! Serve as is, or use it to fill eclairs, profiteroles, doughnuts, and pie shells.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Cooling Time 2 hrs
Course Dessert
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups 484g whole milk
  • 1 tbsp 13g vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup 100g sugar
  • 3 eggs yolks
  • 1 egg whole
  • 1/4 cup 30g corn starch
  • 2 tbsp 28g non-salted butter (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Whisk the yolks, egg, sugar and corn starch together in a large bowl.
  • Slowly bring the milk to a simmer and add the vanilla.
  • Pour half of the hot milk in with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
  • Transfer the egg mixture to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.
  • Once thickened, remove from heat. If you want to add butter, stir it in now.
  • Transfer to a bowl and immediately cover with saran wrap to keep a film from forming.

Notes

A vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla caviar can be exchanged for the vanilla extract. 
Use within 3-4 days. 

PIN IT FOR LATER

how to make vanilla pastry cream pudding from scratch

Sharing is caring!

138 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Baking, RECIPES, THE STOVE Tagged With: pastry

Previous Post: « How to Make Choux Pastry (and what to do with it)
Next Post: Wild Violets and 5 Things to do with them »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Let’s connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Welcome to the Kitchen!

vintage wholesome recipes vintage lifestyle simple living

I’m delighted to have you here!

Hi! I’m Sylvia, a vintage-loving gal. Join me weekly as I share old-fashioned tips and recipes to help you become more intentional and self-sufficient. Want to get to know me better? Please join me over here.

Extra! Extra!

Keep current on Kitchen happenings by signing up for the weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Well, gee, thank you for signing up!

Copyright © 2023 Vintage Kitchen Vixen on the Foodie Pro Theme

138 shares
close

Welcome to the Kitchen!

Subscribe to the Vintage Kitchen Vixen's newsletter to get recipes for your table, gatherings, and a simple life with a vintage twist sent to your inbox every week. 

envelope
x