Confectioner's Custard (Creme Patissiere)
Submitted by riversdale
Classic French creme patissiere made with egg yolks, sugar, milk, and vanilla. The essential pastry cream for tarts, eclairs, cream puffs, and fruit desserts.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
15 minCOOK
15 minREADY
30 minEvery serious baker needs a creme patissiere recipe in their back pocket, and this is the one.
Six egg yolks get whisked with sugar until thick and pale, then married with hot vanilla-infused milk and cooked just until the custard thickens into a luscious, spoonable cream.
It’s the building block behind some of the most iconic French pastries: tarts, eclairs, cream puffs, mille-feuille, and fruit-topped desserts.
Once you nail this, you’ve unlocked an entire world of patisserie.
Chef Tips
- Temper the eggs by adding the hot milk gradually while stirring constantly. Dumping it all in at once will scramble the yolks.
- Cook the custard over gentle heat and never stop stirring. It goes from thin to thick quickly, and you don’t want lumps.
- Dust icing sugar directly on the surface of the warm custard to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.
- For a chocolate variation, stir in 2 ounces of melted dark chocolate while the custard is still hot.
Variations
- Chocolate pastry cream: Fold in melted dark chocolate while warm for a rich filling.
- Coffee creme pat: Stir in a tablespoon of instant espresso dissolved in a splash of hot water.
- Citrus twist: Replace the vanilla pod with the zest of one lemon or orange for a bright, fragrant cream.
Ingredients
Directions
Put the egg yolks and about one-third of the sugar in a bowl and whisk until they are pale and leave a slight trail when you lift up the whisk.
Sift in the flour and mix well.
Put the milk, the remaining sugar and the split vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
As soon as the milk begins to bubble, pour about one third on to the egg mixture, stiring continuously.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook very gently, stiring continuously, until the custard thickens (1-3 minutes), then pour it into a bowl.
Sprinkle some icing sugar over the surface to prevent a skin forming as the custard cools.
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