Pastry Cream

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY T. MIKE FLETCHER, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Soften the gelatin in the water and set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat the milk until hot but not boiling.

 

 

 

 

 

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a non-reactive saucepan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whisk in the flour.

 

 

 

 

 

Add the milk slowly, whisking well and scraping the corners of pan with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the egg yolk mixture is incorporated.

 

 

 

 

 

Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

 

 

 

 

 

Remove from the heat and add the vanilla (if using extract).  Tear the gelatin into small pieces and stir it into the hot liquid (there is no need to liquefy it, the heat of the mixture will do this for you).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pour into a storage container,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cover the surface with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in it and refrigerate overnight to chill or freeze.

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If you have any questions or comments, please find me over on pastrieslikeapro.com!


21 thoughts on “Pastry Cream

  1. Annybell

    hello pls would like to ask for an advice.I will be makin my own wedding cake and I want to use pastry cream to fill the cake but don’t know what frosting to use and also the perfect delicious cake recipe too.I also want to cover the cakes with MMf too .and for how long can the pastry cream be stored .? any advice for me..thanks

    1. hfletcher Post author

      I never used pastry cream as a filling as I thought it too unstable. It can also be dangerous to hold at room temperature in heat. Pastry cream needs to be refrigerated. You will find a lot of information on my main website, http://www.pastrieslikeapro.com. My suggestion would be to make an appointment with one or more people supplying wedding cakes in your area to see what they are doing. As professionals, they will know what will hold and what won’t. Get your ideas from them and then you will have a better feel for what will work for you. Good luck.

  2. iamskippy

    Hi Helen, I am a bloke who likes to dabble in recipes, This sounds good to me, but I need to know what sort of flour is used.
    I have looked at other sites and it appears it is plain flour used, is this correct?
    Thanks, Allan

    1. hfletcher Post author

      Hi Allan – Sorry to confuse you. It is indeed all purpose flour. Bread flour will also work, but pastry flour or cake flours are too weak. Hope this helps.

      Helen

  3. iamskippy

    Hi Helen, I followed your whole recipe and used the cream also. I made horns from Puff Pastry and filled them with the pastry cream. I froze them in airtight container overnight. They were laying down, so a bit worried the cream would run out. But everything OK.
    The next day I defrosted 2 cones, my wife had one first and she loved it. I tried one a bit later and also found it to be great. This is now on my “To Do” list.
    Thanks for this recipe.
    Allan

  4. Can

    Hi Helen, thanks for the recipe!

    I was wondering if I can replace the granulated sugar with brown sugar or cane sugar as I am trying out some new flavour combinations for my macarons and the addition of gelatin into this particular pastry cream seems like it will hold well as a filling. Many thanks!

    1. hfletcher Post author

      Varying the sugar is not a problem, but I wouldn’t use this as a filling for macarons as the pastry cream should be kept refrigerated. It is also too moist a filling for macaron.

    2. hfletcher Post author

      Varying the sugar is not a problem, but I wouldn’t use this as a filling for macarons as it should be kept refrigerated. It is also too moist a filling for macaron.

      1. Can

        Thanks for the very prompt reply! Do you have any other suggestions for macaron fillings that I can make? I’m specifically trying to find something that can use up the egg yolks. Many thanks! :)

  5. Daph

    How long can this be kept in fridge? Since you mentioned it could be frozen, how long and what process to thaw it, in fridge or counter and reship?

    1. hfletcher Post author

      Five days is the most I would keep this refrigerated. As to thawing, since it has to be kept refrigerated, put it in the refrigerator a day before you want to use it.

  6. Lauren Perez

    Hi, can I use this in a danish pastry (without the whipped cream) and bake or do I need another recipe?

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