Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticcera Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

How do you know when the pastry cream is thickened enough? ›

The goal is to properly thicken the custard to achieve a consistency that is stiff, thick, and smooth, while remaining easy to pipe or spread. If the resulting pastry cream is too runny and loose, or overcooked and gritty, then we either fell short or overshot this essential step in the process.

P.S. In case you're wondering what the difference is between Crème Pâtissière and custard (which the French refer to as Crème Anglaise), it's the cornflour. Officially, custard shouldn't contain cornflour. So basically, Crème Pâtissière (or pastry cream) is simply set custard.

Once you have transferred the cooked creme patissiere to a bowl, press a damp piece of greaseproof paper, baking parchment or parchment paper on to the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let the creme patissiere cool slightly then wrap the bowl tightly with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and transfer to the fridge.

If your crème pâtissière isn't thick enough, the best solution is to let it cook for longer. Cornstarch should only be added when the crème pâtissière is boiling, while flour is not recommended at all.

If you find your crème pâtissière is too thin, return to heat and bring to a boil over medium heat to thicken. (See notes above to know when the cream is boiling.)

When heated, the eggs in the mixture coagulate, thickening the cream to a velvety consistency. However, if the cream is heated for too long or at too high a temperature, the eggs can become overcooked, resulting in a curdled, unpleasant texture — or even scrambled eggs in your cream.

Cream until your mixture looks smooth, very pale yellow, and has noticeably increased in volume. If you don't cream for long enough, your mixture will appear gritty, yellow, and flat.

Refrigerate: Refrigerate the pastry cream until cool. It will continue to thicken as it chills, and should be ready to use within a few hours. If the cream ends up quite thick, whisk to loosen a bit before use.

Crème pâtissière, also knows as pastry cream, is a thick, rich, creamy custard made by cooking together milk, eggs (or more typically egg yolks), sugar, starch (typically cornstarch) and flavourings.

This happens if the pastry cream was cooked at too high of a heat and it curdled at some point. Even though you whisked the mixture to break down the curdled egg, and passed it through a sieve, some of the curdled egg is still there. It has dispersed through the custard making it feel grainy.

How to stiffen pastry cream? ›

The egg yolks and cornstarch both serve as thickeners. Increasing the cornstarch is probably the most practical way to make that recipe firmer; try 5 tbsp as a start. (You could instead increase the amount of egg yolk; this will give you a more solid texture, rather than just a thicker one.)

Pastry cream will keep for several days once refrigerated. You can reheat it in the microwave, whisk hard and it becomes spreadable again.

If the mixture is not boiled then the amylase will digest the starch and over time the cream will turn from thick to thin. Creams that do not have starch added should definitely not be boiled.

Pastry cream and lemon curd are custards, and should not sit out all day. Bring out a few hours before serving. Whipped cream cakes should stay refrigerated and come out no more than an hour before serving.

The custard is ready when you can draw a clean line through it on the back of a spoon, using your finger. Strain into a clean jug and serve hot or cold.

Watch for firm peaks (8 to 9 minutes).

If you continue whipping, the cream will stiffen even more and you might notice it taking on a grainy texture. If you take your whisk out of the cream, the peaks will be completely stiff. If you whip much more beyond this stage, you'll make butter.