Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticcera Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between pastry cream and butter cream? ›

Pastry cream delivers in flavor — sweet and custard-like — but lacks lightness. Whipped cream is as light as it comes but doesn't have much flavor or stability. Buttercream, meanwhile, is sturdy and stable but so rich that it can mask the flavors of your dessert, as the butter and sugar steal the show.

It's simple enough to make: combine milk, sugar, eggs, starch, and a flavoring, then heat them together to harness the thickening power of eggs and starch. However, if made incorrectly, it can become too stiff, too runny, or maybe even too bland.

Bavarian Cream is made from a Crème Anglaise base (milk, vanilla, egg yolks and sugar), thickened with Gelatine and lightened with Whipped Cream. Pastry Cream (or Crème Pâtissière) is relatively similar to a Crème Anglaise but is thickened on the stove with Cornstarch (or sometimes flour).

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.

Whereas some recipes use flour instead, I prefer using cornstarch as it gives a better final taste and texture. Unsalted butter. The addition of butter makes the pastry cream even richer and creamier. It also helps it to set to the perfect texture during cooling.

Therefore, this fruit cream dessert can also be renamed a creamy fruit custard recipe. The only difference between the traditional fruit custard and this recipe is the addition of cream.

With espresso, pressurized hot water is forced through finely ground coffee creating both crema and liquid. The espresso crema is comprised of microbubbles of CO2 gas that are suspended in water. The bubbles attach to the natural oils and fats present in coffee, then rise to the top of the beverage.

Once you have transferred the cooked creme patissiere to a bowl, press a damp piece of greaseproof paper, baking parchment or parchment paper on to the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let the creme patissiere cool slightly then wrap the bowl tightly with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and transfer to the fridge.

Why is Mexican crema so good? ›

Mexican crema primarily acts as a flavor balance, but the dairy also works to counter Mexican spices and chilies as a tasty, tangy form of relief. The basic properties of the dairy, while delicious on their own, actually act as a direct foil to high-acidity or hot dishes.

Chantilly cream is made of cold whipping cream or heavy cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. The cream is sweetened and flavored then whipped to medium peaks using a stand mixer or hand mixer.

If you're new to making pastry cream, use a low heat to cook the pastry cream. If the milk is “setting” at the bottom of the pan and creating scrambled-like lumps, then the heat is too high OR you're not mixing the custard fast enough and causing it to “set” too quickly.

Bavarian cream involves milk, eggs, sugar, and often vanilla extract, the same as Boston cream. But then the two ingredient lists diverge: Bavarian cream includes heavy cream and gelatin, while Boston cream involves cornstarch.

It is also what is used to create a crème brûlée and the custard base of île flottante (floating islands). Its ingredients include milk (and sometimes cream), sugar and egg yolk. Also known as pastry cream, crème pâtissière is a cooked custard that is often used to fill éclairs, choux buns and other classic pastries.

: a thick custard that is made of eggs, sugar, milk, flour or cornstarch, and usually flavoring and that is typically used as a filling for pastries and other baked goods. Once you've become comfortable with the technique for making pastry cream, opportunities abound for the versatile baker's staple.