Italian Pastry Cream Recipe
This traditional Italian Pastry Cream Recipe is rich, creamy and super easy to make. It's perfect to use as a cream base for layered cakes, to fill doughnuts or any other pastry.
Servings: 500 gr
Calories: 112kcal
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Medium Bowl
- Balloon whisk
- Cooking thermometer
Ingredients
- 250 ml whole milk
- 62.5 gr whipping cream with 35% of fat
- 1 unwaxed lemon zest
- 1 vanilla pod seed
- 75 gr egg yolks fresh and room temperature
- 62.5 gr caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 15 gr corn starch
- 10 gr rice flour
Instructions
Warming up
- On a medium heat fill medium saucepan with milk, whipping cream, the lemon zest, and the vanilla seed.
Mixing up
- Whisk the yolks, the sugar, and the salt in a medium bowl until you have a creamy texture, now add a little by little the corn starch, the rice flour previously stiffed, till becomes a batter texture.
- Keep a look at the liquids, they need to reach the temperature of 85° C to be used or just before the simmering.
Assembling
- When the liquids are at the right temperature, remove the lemon zest. Pour gently half the liquid into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk for a few seconds. This operation is used to avoid the yolks having a thermal shock.
- Now pour the egg yolks back to the saucepan with the rest of the liquids, turn down to low heat and whisk constantly until the cream is quite thick, and the temperature reaches 82°C, it will take just a few minutes.
- Once ready, pour the cream straight away in glass containers (we need to cool it down quickly!!!) and cover with cling film making sure the film touches the cream to avoid the creation of a layer on top of it.
- Store in the fridge once it has cooled down.
Notes
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend using digital scales for a more accurate result.
How to store?
Store it in the fridge in glass containers. Cover it with cling film making sure the film touches the cream, used within 3 days. When you will need it just take it from the fridge, whisk for a few seconds!
Can I freeze the Pastry Cream?
I don't recommend freezing the cream, as it may split during the freezer phase.
I don't own a cooking thermometer, can I still make the cream?
Yes, of course. In the warming-up phase, the liquids are ready when are starting simmering. While in the final phase, the cream is ready when it starting to thicking up, usually around 10 minutes.
Italian Pastry Cream Recipe