I was convinced I already had the pastry cream recipe on the blog, but I didn’t, so today I remedied that and I’m sharing the recipe my grandmother always used. As we know, grandmothers have a wealth of knowledge in the kitchen! Pastry cream is a classic of Italian pastry, an excellent spoon dessert that also serves as a great filling for tarts, cakes, or other pastries! In the recipe, I’ll explain some small tricks and tips that will help you achieve a perfect result, as long as you follow the quantities and procedure described to the letter! Now try the pastry cream and let me know what you think!
Also try the version of SUGAR-FREE PASTRY CREAM
Follow my SHOPPING TIPS
If you’re looking for ideal bases to fill, try these:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Very Economical
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 167.65 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 25.39 (g) of which sugars 19.70 (g)
- Proteins 4.53 (g)
- Fat 5.92 (g) of which saturated 3.24 (g)of which unsaturated 2.62 (g)
- Fibers 0.02 (g)
- Sodium 3.60 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 128 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Pastry Cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- lemon zest (untreated)
Useful Tools
- Saucepan medium size
- Wooden Spoon
- Hand Whisk
- Food Scale
- 2 Bowls glass
- Cling Film
- Knife
Steps to Perfectly Prepare Pastry Cream
To start, pour the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon, then add the cornstarch and mix again with the wooden spoon until you obtain a thick but homogeneous mixture (don’t worry, no lumps will form), now let it rest.
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the lemon peel (devoid of the white part) and bring to the heat over high flame until it starts to simmer (it shouldn’t boil completely), then turn off the heat.
Pour 4 tablespoons of hot milk into the bowl with the egg mixture and mix well until you obtain a liquid, uniform mixture, pour this mixture into the saucepan where the milk is, return to the heat over low flame and stir continuously with the wooden spoon until it thickens, then turn off the heat.
Pour the still-warm pastry cream into a sufficiently large glass bowl, cover with cling film placing it in contact with the cream (this prevents a dry skin from forming on the surface) and set aside until it cools completely (this will take about 4/5 hours).
Once the pastry cream is well cold, remove the film and quickly mix it with the hand whisk for a few minutes, and you’ll see it becomes smooth and shiny with no lumps! Now the pastry cream is ready.
Before use, I recommend letting it rest in the fridge covered with cling film for at least 2 hours before using it, so the cream will remain firmer, but nothing prevents you from using it immediately without chilling, and if you’re in a hurry, you can prepare the dessert and chill it!
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Usage Tips
You can use pastry cream:
As a standalone spoon dessert or with added fresh fruit or chocolate.
As a filling for cakes with a sponge cake base.
As a filling for tarts with added fresh fruit.
As a filling for mille-feuille or diplomatics.
The fruits I recommend pairing with pastry cream are: strawberries, peaches, berries, mango, papaya (of course, each in its season).
As for chocolate, I recommend pairing with white or dark chocolate.
You can store pastry cream in the fridge covered with cling film for two days.
