25 pastry cream recipes

Dakota Prairie pumpkin pie recipe makes three classic 9-inch pies for the holiday table. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, enriched with milk and half-and-half, and baked into a silky custard.

Flaky puff pastry layered with a creamy spinach, green chili, and cream cheese filling. Just 5 ingredients, cut into squares or diamonds for an easy appetizer or snack.

You will be wondering what's the secret to this decadent and delicious pecan pie.

Geneva pear flan, a Swiss shortcrust tart piled with fresh pears, candied citrus peel, raisins and walnut oil, moistened with white wine and finished with a blanket of baked cream. An old-world tart from the French-Swiss border.

Lighter pumpkin cream cheese pie with fat-free cream cheese, egg whites, and maple syrup in a phyllo pastry crust. All the fall flavor with less guilt per slice.

Sweet potato pecan pie with brown sugar, dark corn syrup, warm spices, and a praline liqueur whipped cream topping. Two Southern classics merged into one rich, custard-set slice.

Mushroom tart with caramelized mixed mushrooms, thyme cream, Parmigiano, and crumbled blue cheese in a flaky puff pastry shell. A showstopper appetizer or light dinner with deep earthy flavor.

Jumbleberry pie loaded with fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries in a double-crust pastry with warm cinnamon and nutmeg. A triple-berry showstopper served with ice cream.

Hostess-Style Cupcakes with deep chocolate cake, silky vanilla pastry cream filling, dark chocolate ganache glaze and the signature white loop squiggle on top. A homemade copycat that buries the store-bought version.

A showstopper Boston cream pie with four layers of airy genoise, white chocolate pastry cream between each layer, a glossy dark chocolate ganache coating, and fresh raspberries on top. Patisserie-level dessert.

A classic French pear and frangipane tart: vanilla-poached pears arranged over almond pastry cream spiked with kirsch and crushed macaroons, finished with apricot glaze and pistachios.

French pear tart with almond frangipane, kirsch-soaked apricot glaze, and vanilla-poached pears. Crushed macaroons fold into the pastry cream for chewy depth, finished with green pistachios.

Miniature nut-filled pastries with a sour cream butter dough wrapped around pecans or walnuts in dark corn syrup. Bite-sized, flaky, and they store beautifully.

Hungarian tarts with a cream cheese pastry shell and five filling options: almond, pecan, walnut, coconut, and farmer's cheese. A traditional holiday baking project.

Nut horns are Eastern European cream cheese pastries filled with a sweet walnut meringue filling. The dough chills overnight for a flaky, tender bite that melts in your mouth.

Black Forest rugalach pastries with a cream cheese dough wrapped around boozy cherry, dark chocolate and walnut filling. The Jewish bakery classic given a chocolate-cherry overhaul straight out of the German cake playbook.