Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Yield
3 cups
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes plus cooling
RecipeVideoPrint

Pastry cream is a thick and silky smooth custard. It is incredibly versatile and can be flavored with spices (vanilla, cinnamon), chocolates and other ingredients (honey, maple syrup, etc.). It is excellent plain (flavored with vanilla) or can be viewed as a 'blank canvas' for you. This is a chance to impart flavor and personality to your desserts!


What is pastry cream used for?

Pastry cream is one of those wondrous things in the dessert world because of its versatility.

Here's a short list of pastry cream uses for you:

  • Eclair filling
  • Cream puffs
  • Between cake layers
  • Boston Cream Pie
  • Trifles


It also is a base for many other creams in the dessert world, such as diplomat cream, which is lightened by the addition of freshly whipped cream or Chiboust Cream, which is pastry cream + gelatin.

I often make pastry cream to fill tarts, as my fruit tarts are my most requested dessert. Another common way in my house (my husband's favorite 🥰) is in banana cream pie!

How can you flavor pastry cream?

There are a couple ways to experiment with the cream in terms of flavorings. You have two ways to introduce flavor in a pastry cream:

  1. During the milk heating; or
  2. at the end when you stir in the butter.

For the milk heating process you can steep whole spices to flavor the milk: cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, a chai blend (!!), and just remove the spices during the straining process.

If you want to add extracts (almond, maple, etc.), you can simply add them at the end when stirring in your butter.

Some extra tips:

The secret to a silky smooth cream is to whisk continuously when cooking the egg/milk mixture. Whisk your heart out ... make sure you get the sides and bottom really well.

If you happen to get lumps in your finished cream, however, don't worry! Use your strainer again (wash it though since we put raw eggs through it) and push the cream through with a spatula. That should relieve you of some of the lump-age.

What happens if the pastry cream is too thick?

If you have some white chocolate lying around, toss an ounce or two in the warm cream, and this should loosen it up a bit. White chocolate is not strong in flavor at all and will lighten the cream.

Let's make some pastry cream!

Step by step:

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Video

Read this before you begin

Measure by weight, if possible.

Measuring by weight is the best way for you to replicate my recipes. I develop recipes using ingredients (even liquids) measured in grams, which is why you see them listed first in the recipe cards. For measurements under 5 grams, I will typically only list the volumetric measurements (teaspoons, etc.), as most home scales are not precise for such small weights.

In most cases, I have converted grams to volumetric measurements (aka US customary units) for bakers who prefer this method. However, the measurements are not as precise and may have awkward proportions. The recipes should still work, but for the ultimate precision, try to use weight.

This is the OXO scale I use daily. I also purchased this budget version of a good scale, which I keep at my Mom’s house for baking. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.

Use room temperature ingredients.

All my ingredients should be used at room temperature, or 65-75 °F/18-24 °C. I will always indicate if you need something outside this range. If no details are given, room temperature is the default. 

Pay attention to the ingredient descriptions.

I try not to be brand-specific, but I will always note an interesting result from a type of ingredient, be it negative or positive. 

A specific note regarding salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for everything on this site except for frostings. In frostings, you want the salt to dissolve more easily, and kosher salt tends to leave granules behind. If you substitute table salt (more finely granulated) for recipes that list kosher salt, you must use half the volume indicated in my recipes.

Substitutions are hard.

That’s not to say they’re impossible, though. For instance, in many cases, substituting reduced fat for whole milk (and thus reducing fat by less than 2%) will probably be fine. Using applesauce for oil or even Greek yogurt when sour cream is listed will definitely alter the fat content and adversely affect the crumb texture and density of the cake.

I experiment for hours to get these recipes to work for us. First, try to make them as written or use one of my tested substitutions, which I often dedicate a section to. Then, if necessary, you can make modifications afterward. Even then I would be pretty cautious, as substitutions are one of the hardest things to investigate in recipe development.

Read all the recipe instructions before beginning.

I’m in the “Pre-read the Chapter before Class Lecture” club... and I invite you to join! Baking new recipes can be intimidating, so let’s set you up for success. I want you to think about timeframes. Most fillings and frostings can be made ahead of time, and give you an extra day for mental space. Also, as you become a more proficient baker, you can anticipate and recognize steps. (“Oh, this has a meringue step, so I’ll need an extra clean bowl…” etc.) Ensure you go down the ingredient list and have everything at the right temperature.

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Yield
3 cups
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes plus cooling
Download PDFSave to Pinterest

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • half a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp of vanilla paste/extract)
  • 2 cups (484g/17 oz) whole milk (or half&half)
  • 6 egg yolks, from large eggs (7 TB/111g/3.6 oz)
  • 3 TB (28g/1 oz) cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 TB (14g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)

2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.

3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.

4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.

7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

‍

  • 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • half a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp of vanilla paste/extract)
  • 2 cups (484g/17 oz) whole milk (or half&half)
  • 6 egg yolks, from large eggs (7 TB/111g/3.6 oz)
  • 3 TB (28g/1 oz) cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 TB (14g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)

2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.

3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.

4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.

7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

‍

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)
  2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.
  3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.
  4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.
  5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.
  6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.
  7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

Adriana's Notes

Ingredients
Instructions
  • 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • half a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp of vanilla paste/extract)
  • 2 cups (484g/17 oz) whole milk (or half&half)
  • 6 egg yolks, from large eggs (7 TB/111g/3.6 oz)
  • 3 TB (28g/1 oz) cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 TB (14g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)

2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.

3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.

4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.

7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

‍

  • 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • half a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp of vanilla paste/extract)
  • 2 cups (484g/17 oz) whole milk (or half&half)
  • 6 egg yolks, from large eggs (7 TB/111g/3.6 oz)
  • 3 TB (28g/1 oz) cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 TB (14g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)

2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.

3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.

4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.

7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

‍

  1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)
  2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.
  3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.
  4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.
  5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.
  6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.
  7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

Recipe Card - Adriana's Notes

Recommended Sugar Lab Recipes + Experiments

Black Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Mousse Cake Filling (with no gelatin or eggs)

There’s more where this came from!

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Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Yield
3 cups
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • half a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp of vanilla paste/extract)
  • 2 cups (484g/17 oz) whole milk (or half&half)
  • 6 egg yolks, from large eggs (7 TB/111g/3.6 oz)
  • 3 TB (28g/1 oz) cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 TB (14g/0.5 oz) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)

2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.

3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.

4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.

7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.

‍

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the sugar to scrub out all the seeds from the pod. Pour in your milk/half and half, whisk to combine. Turn the burner on medium-low. Slowly bringing the milk to a simmer allows the vanilla pod to infuse it with flavor. I try not to rush this step too much. (If you are using vanilla paste or extract, skip this part and just heat the milk. You will add the flavor in step 6.)
  2. While the milk is heating, in large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together until completely combined.
  3. When you see bubbles along the perimeter of the milk saucepan and steam slowly rising, turn off your burner. Slowly ladle a few tablespoons of steaming milk into the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. This allows the eggs to gradually increase in temperature. (Doing this step too quickly will cook the eggs, and will yield scrambled eggs in your pastry cream.) Add a couple more ladles of milk into the eggs and continue to whisk.
  4. Pour the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, whisk to combine.
  5. Pour the entire egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.
  6. Turn the burner back onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture is thick and custardy, which may take a few minutes. Once you see the first steam bubble pop, whisk for about one more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter (and vanilla paste/extract, if using) and pinch of salt.
  7. Push the pastry cream through a clean strainer to get a super duper smooth texture. Or you can immediately scrape into a container (which is what I do when I'm lazy) and cover the surface with plastic wrap, and allow to cool before using.

Storage. Keeps refrigerated in a tight container for up to one week. Just remove it from the fridge and stir it until it's nice and creamy before using in your dessert. I don't recommend freezing pastry cream because it often breaks (looks like cottage cheese) upon thawing.