Pastry Cream Recipe (Crema Pasticcera)
Simple Italian pastry cream recipe (crema pasticcera) that is used for filling countless desserts and pastries.
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks organic
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp potato starch (if using corn starch add 1 extra tsp)
- 1 pinch salt
- 14 oz milk
- 1 tsp vanilla or ½ tsp pure vanilla powder or paste
Instructions
- Place the egg yolks into a medium sized pot (off the heat).
- Add the sugar and potato or corn starch and whisk together until uniform.
- When the mixture is smooth, place the pot on the stovetop. Begin pouring in the warm milk whilst whisking. Turn the heat on to medium.
- Continue whisking and gradually increase the heat. The pastry cream will thicken as it heats up.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, let it cook for about 3 minutes then remove from the heat. Add the vanilla and keep stirring as it cools so that it doesn't form a skin. Move into a large bowl and set the bowl into a larger bowl with ice water (if you need to cool it quickly), then refrigerate covered until completely chilled.
- Use as desired.
Notes
- If you want a lighter version of this pastry cream, whip 4 oz (120 ml) of heavy whipping cream until stiff and then fold into the chilled pastry cream.
- You can add more or less cream to your liking, and also add a little sugar to the cream when whipping (I prefer it without).
- Adding a tablespoonful of Grand Marnier (at the end) makes a lovely addition, too.
- Pastry cream can be kept refrigerated for 1 or 2 days, but must be consumed promptly once the pastries are filled.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 0.2mg
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