Pastry Cream
The classic filling for eclairs, tarts, and cream puffs — thick, silky, and starch-set.
Makes 2 cups · Prep 10 min · Bake 10 min
Ingredients
Custard
- 2 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 4 Egg yolks
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Base
- Warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming, but not boiling.
- Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a separate bowl, then whisk in the egg yolks until smooth and pale.
Temper
- Slowly pour about a third of the warm milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then pour the tempered yolks back into the rest of the milk in the pan. (Tip: This gradual step is what keeps the eggs from scrambling — adding cold eggs straight into hot milk shocks them too fast.)
Cook
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Let it boil, still whisking, for a full minute. (Tip: The boil isn't optional — it's what deactivates the enzyme in the yolks that would otherwise thin the cream back out in the fridge.)
Finish
- Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla until smooth.
Chill
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream (to stop a skin forming) and chill until fully cold. (Tip: Direct contact plastic wrap is the standard fix for custard skin — without it, the surface dries and forms a rubbery layer as it cools.)
Tips
- Cream stayed thin after chilling: It likely didn't reach a full rolling boil, or wasn't held there long enough. The yolks' natural enzyme keeps breaking down the starch until that enzyme is fully deactivated by sustained heat.
- Lumps in the finished cream: Usually the tempering step was rushed, or the heat was too high and parts of the mixture scrambled before the whisking could keep up. Straining the finished cream through a fine sieve rescues a slightly lumpy batch.