Homemade Pastry Cream is so versatile! Every good baker should have a go-to recipe. Learn how to whip up this creamy, egg-y filling like a pro, with this easy video tutorial! (Gluten and dairy free.) And don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom of the post for an awesome giveaway from Tieks!
Good morning, friends! How was your holiday weekend? Ours was very busy, with birthday festivities, holiday celebrations, and lots of time with family. Plus I am still in the process of getting everything back in order, after the big kitchen paint project. I thought I would have been able to share lots of gorgeous pics with you by now, but it’s funny how these things always seem to take longer than we expect them to. Look for something from me by the end of this week though, for sure!
For today’s post I’m sharing a basic recipe that every good baker should have in her back pocket.
Pastry cream is a “building block recipe” that can be used in so many ways. As a filling for cakes, eclairs, layered into parfaits, or as a base for a cream pie, you will never run out of uses for this versatile item.
I think any time we hear about tempering eggs we tend to get a bit nervous, but this is truly so easy you could practically do it in your sleep. To prove just how do-able homemade pastry cream can be, I made you a little video!
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Homemade Pastry Cream
Homemade Pastry Cream is so versatile! Every good baker should have a go-to recipe. Learn how to whip up this creamy, egg-y filling like a pro! (Gluten and dairy free.)
a little over 1 1/2 cups adjust servings
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk (dairy, nut, soy, or coconut milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Heat the milk in a small pot until small bubbles form around the edge, and wisps of steam are rising from the surface.
- Add the hot milk to the egg mixture, a little at a time, whisking to combine. When all the milk has been added, transfer the mixture back to the pot and place over medium-low heat. Cook the pastry cream, whisking, until thickened.
- Stir in the vanilla, and pour the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer, into a heat-safe bowl. Use the back of a ladle to press the mixture through the sieve. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and refrigerate.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 1004kcal Calories from fat 300 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 33g | 51% |
| Saturated Fat 15g | 75% |
| Cholesterol 913mg | 304% |
| Sodium 1155mg | 48% |
| Carbohydrate 150g | 50% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
| Sugars 119g | |
| Protein 24g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
Hopefully that shows how easy homemade pastry cream is to make. If you’ve never tasted it before, it’s sort of like a cross between creme brulee and vanilla pudding. I used to make huge hotel pans of it every week, back in my days in the professional kitchen, and we always used regular dairy milk. But now, in my home kitchen, it’s just small batches, and lately I’ve really been loving coconut milk pastry cream, for a dairy-free option. And it’s also naturally gluten-free, so this is a really great thing if you or someone you love has food allergies or sensitivities.
Now- as a special treat to you guys, for being such sweet and loyal friends to me, I want to treat you to a pair of new Spring kicks!
Don’t these shoes look so comfy? And I just love all the colors they come in. Enter to win a pair with the widget below!
(for US residents only)
We’ll chat again soon- have a great week, my dears!
Some tools/ingredients you may need for this recipe:
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I would get the clover green Tieks.
Green is my favorite color! Love it with dark jeans 😉 Good luck Elissa!
Thanks for a great video! Can’t wait to see your kitchen pictures! 🙂
Thank you Tiffany! I’m really looking forward to sharing them too 😉
I love the matte Black Tieks. Simple but the go with everything.
You can never go wrong with basic black! Thanks so much for reading and entering, Jessica!
Outrageous Orange Is probably my favorite. It’s hard to choose
Love that! Orange is one of those colors that seems to complement everything. Good luck Sandy!
I like the Lovestruck Tieks color, rose-gold and sparkle is perfect for summer.
Oh my gosh, YES! I had my eye on that color too. Great choice!
Love the video! I’m dying to see your kitchen….and, sure…I’ll enter to win some Tieks. 🙂
Thanks Kellie! Hope you win sweetie! 🙂
Allie, I literally went, ‘whoa!’, when I opened your page. This pastry cream looks so wonderfully decadent! I’ll take a giant spoon, please 🙂
Lol thank you Kathleen! This is one of those things I make so often, a dedicated blog post is long overdue. I’m so happy you liked! Thank you for the sweet comment!
Love the video, Allie! Your pastry cream looks perfectly yum. Looking forward to your kitchen pictures!
Thank you so much Jen! I’m looking forward to sharing!
they are all super cute, but I think the chestnut would get the most use in my day to day wardrobe!
Great choice! You can’t lose with a nice neutral. Thanks for reading! Good luck!
Fun giveaway! Hard choice on colors they are all gorgeous! I’d have to choose the golden glitz… so fun!
Ooh I love that one! I’m such a sucker for sparkly shoes- great minds! Thanks for reading and entering, Jan!
Love these shoes!!! I have always wanted a pair! My favorite would be Lovestruck!
I would choose metallic pewter.
I love how easy pastry cream is to make, thank you for sharing.
My pleasure Janette! I love pastry cream too, and I make it so often!
Oh this is so fantastic! I think I could eat pastry cream all on its own honestly.
I could too, and I totally have! Thanks Jocelyn!
Allie, I love this pastry cream and love that you gave non-dairy options!!! and love your video!!! so beautiful!!!
Thank you so much Alice! I think I’m really starting to enjoy the video thing 🙂
i really like the basic nude patent
I have a pair of nude flats and I wear them ALL the time! Thanks so much for entering the giveaway!
I could eat my weight in pastry cream on a daily basis (probably I good thing I don’t)! It’s one of the best things to know how to make right off the cuff because it instantly makes everything better. Love the video, and it’s so great with coconut milk!
Isn’t it? I think I may even like the coconut milk version better than the original! Thanks so much Marcie!
Your video is super helpful. The rose garden tieks are beautiful!
Ooh that sounds lovely! I’m so glad you liked the video Amanda- thanks so much for entering our giveaway 🙂
Lovely video, Allie! How have I never made pastry cream – that must be remedied immediately.
Oh yes! Once you start you’ll never want to stop, lol! Thank you so much Marissa 🙂
Love to win some navy ones.
My friend has a pair in navy and they’re gorgeous! Great choice; thanks so much for your entry 🙂
I love Both Pink ones
My previous comment was for an email to my girlfriend. Ha Ha Ha. Sorry, I can’t wait to make the frosting for a birthday cake this weekend. Thank you for sharing
Lol no worries! I’m so glad you like the recipe! Thanks for reading 🙂
Perfect for Spring! Love it- thanks for entering Jodi!
As soon as I saw the coconut milk can open, I knew this is for me! Well thank you dear friend 🙂
I can’t look at anything coconut without thinking of you, my dear! You are too sweet. Hugs to you 😀
I love the turquoise color!!
Great choice! Such a fun color for this time of year! Thanks for reading and entering, Becky 🙂
I love the lilac ones.
Ooh lilac! What a great choice! Good luck and thanks for entering!
I Love The Romantic Blush Tieks!
That color looks so versatile. I bet you get a ton of use out of them! Thanks so much for the comment Heather!
I love the California Navy!
The navy is so pretty in person! Good luck and thanks for entering Kristin!
what an awesome video! I learn something new everyday! 🙂
Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun putting it together. I’m so happy you liked it- thanks for the great feedback!
i really like the matte black ones 🙂
Great choice! Basic black will never go out of style! Good luck and thanks for entering!
Allie, this is such a neat idea! I have no clue how to make pastry cream, thank you for the helpful tips!!
My pleasure Jessica! I make it so often, I decided it was about time it got it’s own post. So happy you found it to be helpful! 🙂
Pastry cream is the best! Don’t judge me for piping it straight into my mouth 😉 Yours looks perfect, Allie, and the video kicks ass!
Girl you always know how to put a smile on my face! Thank you so much for the awesome comment. Hope you’re having a great night, Nancy! xoxo
Such a great video! I love the California Navy Tiek’s 🙂
I love those too! My friend got a pair and they are gorgeous! Thanks so much Christina, for watching my video and entering! Good luck 😉
Totally loving your videos Allie! So perfect and super helpful! Just give me a spoon for this pastry cream… I want to eat it straight out of the bowl!
Thank you Chris! I may or may not have snuck a spoonful or two after the pics were snapped 😉
I love the olive ones!
Hope your weekend and all the birthday celebrations were a blast 🙂 This pastry cream looks absolutely heavenly, Allie! I just want to dive right in! And I LOVE the video! Can’t wait to see your kitchen pics!
Thank you so much Kelly! We had lots of fun and now we’re tired, lol. I’m so happy you liked the video, and I can’t wait to share pics! Have a great day hon!
I love the Nude Lace or to the Pop Pink! Such cute shoes!! Ummmm and your pastry cream…….Can’t wait to make this!!
Yay! Thank you so much Heather- I hope you like it!
Love homemade pastry cream! Great video! Nice giveaway!
Thank you Mira! <3
This is just the perfect recipe for me, Allie! I’ve just been looking for some pastry cream recipes for some kitchen experiments. You totally read my mind!
Love the video, too! By the way, I separate my egg yolks the same way you do! My friend insists on transferring the egg yolks between broken egg shell halves. Using the hand is so much better!
I agree! Every time I use the egg shells I end up breaking the yolk. I’m so happy you liked this Lisa!
I am so glad you shared this video because this has been on my bucket list!
Yay! Good luck Julianne- I think you will fall in love with it!
I love the Cardinal red color the most.
I have a pair of red Toms and I wear them constantly! Great choice, thanks for entering!
I LOVE the lavender snake Tieks!!!!
The snake prints are my favorite too! Thanks so much for entering Trish!
YUM! I love pastry cream and yours is simple, beautiful, perfection!!!
Thank you so much Kayle! I make it so often, I could do it in my sleep lol!
love the video
Yay! Thank you so much Carol! <3
That pastry cream looks yummy! My fave color Tieks is Obsidian Black.
Nice! You can’t go wrong with that. Thanks so much for reading and entering, Zubayda!
Awesome video!! I don’t need to be entered in a giveaway, but wanted to chime in to say nice job 🙂
Aw thank you so much! I had a lot of fun putting it together. I’m so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for the awesome feedback <3
I love your video, Allie! What a great way to show how to temper eggs. It’s one of those techniques that’s much easier to see rather than describe. I’ve never made pastry cream with coconut milk, but I’m sure it would be absolutely delicious. My all time favorite version of pastry cream is diplomat cream (pastry cream mixed with a bit of fresh whipped cream). Talk about decadent! I can’t wait to see photos of your new kitchen! After we gutted our house, it took me a good 3 months to get everything settled just in the kitchen 🙂
Wow three months? I believe it though. My kitchen was just painted, no gutting thank goodness! It took me a few days to get it cleaned and back to normal. I’ll be showing pics tomorrow! And ps- diplomat cream is my FAVORITE!!! My grandmother used to use it to fill cream puffs and it is just amazing.
Great video, Allie! Turns out pastry cream is not so scary after all. Another great use for pastry cream? Afternoon snack on a spoon. 🙂
I hear that! It’s such a treat… Thanks so much for watching Meggan!
This is an amazing tutorial. Fuchsia is my favorite color of Tieks!
Thank you so much Erin! Fuschia sounds gorgeous! I want a pair now too 😉
Now we’ll all become pastry cream experts thanks to you! Can’t wait to try it 😀
Thanks so much for watching Lily!
I love the vegan ones in Greystone!
Love that! Thanks for entering! <3
I love this post, Allie! So delicious and I love making pastry cream in my patisserie classes at college! Many people are extremely scared of making it but it’s so easy to cook! 😀 Definitely going to try your wonderful recipe! 😀 x
Aw thank you Jess! I know it sounds intimidating but it’s really so simple, right?
I love the clover green tieks!
Great choice Kimberly! Good luck and thanks for entering 😉
I’ve actually never made pastry cream, but I totally want to make some now! So glad to know I can use soy or coconut milk, too. As for Tieks, I’ve been obsessing over the cobalt blue color…I keep hearing wonderful things about Tieks, but haven’t taken the plunge myself yet!
Cobalt blue sounds amazing! Thanks so much for entering the giveaway! And I’m so happy you like the recipe too 😉
Allie I LOVE this video! I have always been so intimidated by pastry, even the fillings, but you make it so easy to follow and not at all intimidating. I always love your videos!
Those Teiks are ADORABLE. I have been on the hunt for gold flats for months now so I would definitely go for those rose gold beauties!
Thank you so much Nora and I’m so sorry for the late reply! Rose gold sounds absolutely gorgeous!
Nice video Allie and the pastry cream looks delicious.
Thanks so much Chineka! Hope you’re having a nice week dear 🙂
You make the pastry cream baking look so easy! Thanks, and my waistline thanks you too–ha ha.
It really is easy! I’m so happy you like it Diane- I hope you get a chance to give it a try 🙂
This is one gorgeous-looking pastry cream! I could eat it the whole jar with a spoon right now. 🙂
Lol thanks Nicole! Hope you’re having a good week, my friend!
I like the Lilac colored Tieks, very cute.
That Pastry Cream is BEAUTIFUL – I need Cream Puffs of something else right now to devour it with!! And ooh those Tieks colors…. geeze, the Fushia & Nude Lace both were calling out to me!
Thanks so much Rachel! Those colors sound gorgeous!
Lilac!
Great choice Priscilla! Thanks for entering!
As much as I love all the fun colors, I’d pick the Greystone. I’d wear them the most and they are so cute!
They are totally cute! Thanks so much for entering Jessica!
I do love pastry cream. I haven’t made any in ages! As for the Tieks… I’m torn between silver lake and metallic pewter!
Thank you so much! I love metallics too and both those colors sound gorgeous!
Great video! Pastry cream has always been a problem for me. As for the Tieks, I can’t help it-I love the Ballerina Pink, although I think I would get more use out of the Chestnut.
Ballerina Pink sounds lovely! And versatile to boot. But then Chestnut would be too! Thanks Samantha!
Love the video! I always put any pudding or pastry cream through the sieve. It makes such a difference in texture. I’ve never tried it with coconut milk. What a great idea!
Thank you Lindsey! Lately I’ve been loving it with that subtly sweet coconut flavor 😉
Wow Allie! This recipe is amazing!!! I was just telling my son that I was going to make him some vanilla pudding. I will do some substitutions for his allergies like substitute arrowroot for cornstarch and Lakanto for sugar. I can wait to see the results! I may even add some fresh vanilla bean!! You are always inspiring me!!!
Fresh vanilla bean is such a great idea! I hope your son enjoys. Now I’m off to look up what Lakanto is, lol! Thanks for the tip, btw 😉
Love the video and the recipe! So well done!
Thanks sweetie! I had a lot of fun putting it together. Hope you’re having a great day so far!
Thanks Allie! We love Lakanto, it is a blend of Monk Fruit and erythritol. It is a zero calorie, zero glycemic sweeter and tastes like sugar so it’s perfect for diabetics or people with candida. My kids love it!
Thank you so much for the explanation! I have some erythritol in my cupboard and I thought it was pretty good- although it does give that “cold” sensation. I will have to look out for the Monkfruit/erythritol combo! Sounds like a really great option for my husband!
Hi There, I have a brand spanking new Kitchen Aid Artisan on the way to my home. I love things like baklava and other treats and meals made with puff pastry dough. I’d like to make my own home-made puff pastry dough. Do you have a recipe you would share for it?
Hey Timi! Congrats on your new KitchenAid! I’m sorry I don’t have a puff pastry recipe on the blog at the moment, but I am currently working on a post for homemade Danish pastry, which is very similar to puff only it also has yeast in it. So stay tuned for that!
Hi, I loved the pastry cream video, Would love to try it. I have few queries.
1. Can I prepare in advance and keep it in ziplock bag and keep it in Fridge?
2. If yes then after I remove should I bring in room temperature or should I use it immediately?
3. For how many days can I keep it in fridge or freezer?
Hey thanks so much! I would recommend storing it in just the same way I’ve shown in the video: heat-safe bowl with plastic film pressed directly onto the surface. It can be served cold or at room temp- that’s entirely up to you! Probably best to use it within 7-10 days. Hope that answers all your questions! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!
Hi Allie, I am grateful for your reply. One more question and it would be a great help..
I have to bake a Cake next week. I am planning to make (mandarin cake or chocolate or vanilla cake). Can I fill the pastry cream in the cake and top it up with buttercream icing or frosting. Would that work if I do it? Can u please help me? It would be a great help.
Absolutely Sunita I can’t imagine any reason why that wouldn’t work. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
Hi, I have few queries.
1. For Making vanilla Pastry Cream, we don’t get vanilla bean paste in any shops here. Can I use just vanilla extract (one Tablespoon) or vanilla bean pod (ONLY ONE).
2. I am also unable to find cake and pastry flour for making cake. I searched in net and there’s only one option is to use 1 cup All Purpose flour – 2 Tablespoons AP flour + 2 Tablespoons cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour
Your response will be really helpful
Thanks for the great questions, Sunitha! Yes you can absolutely substitute extract for paste, but a vanilla bean pod would be even better! And I have also seen that formula for making your own cake flour. I haven’t tried it myself, but I know lots of bakers who have, and they’ve reported decent results. I would go ahead and give it a try! Hope that helps. Thanks so much for reading!
How far in advance can you make the cream if you are using it to fill a cake? Thank you!
Hey Katie! You could easily do 3 or 4 days ahead, just be sure to keep it refrigerated! Good luck!