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Basic Vanilla Pastry Cream

Preview: Basic Vanilla Pastry Cream

by Kimberley S in Rouxbe Videos

Fill a variety of pastries and desserts with this delicious and creamy pastry cream.

Serves
About 4 cups
Active Time
30 mins
Total Time
30 mins

Step 1: Making the Pastry Cream

Making the Pastry Cream
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 7 tbsp cornstarch
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

To start the pastry cream, first secure the bowl in place, by using a damp cloth. With a sturdy whisk, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cornstarch and whisk until well blended and light in color.

Heat the milk and vanilla over medium heat and bring the mixture just to the boiling point. Temper the eggs, by adding the hot liquid a bit at a time, while continually whisking.

Transfer the mixture back into a clean pot over medium-low heat. At this point, it’s important to whisk constantly, until it the mixture thickens and bubbles. Make sure to get the whisk right into the edges of the pot so everything cooks evenly and the bottom doesn’t scorch. Once the mixture has clearly thickened and has started to bubble, whisk continuously for about another minute to cook out the cornstarch.

Pour the pastry cream into a stainless-steel bowl and place over an ice bath to cool. Stir a few times to quickly bring down the temperature and once cool, cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.

Place the pastry cream into the refrigerator to chill completely. Pastry cream is widely used in desserts and pastries.

Related Drill-downs

Notes

This pastry cream is quite thick, especially when chilled. To obtain a smooth texture again, simply press it through a fine mesh sieve before whisking. Pressing it through a sieve will loosen it up and make it easier to whisk.