119 pastry cream recipes

Parisienne fruit tart layers crisp puff pastry with vanilla cream and bananas, glazes it with apricot, then crowns it with whipped cream, grapes, and pineapple. A showpiece French pastry from simple shortcuts.

Apple pie with apricot glaze layers tart Granny Smith apples over a custard pastry cream and finishes with a layer of apricot preserves under the top crust. A French-style twist on classic American apple pie.

Kolache cookies with a cream cheese pastry dough folded around fruit jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A three-ingredient Czech-style pastry that melts in your mouth.

Boston cream pie from scratch: tender vanilla butter cake split into four layers, filled with a homemade vanilla pastry custard, and crowned with a glossy milk chocolate glaze.

Jam tarts press tender cream cheese pastry around dollops of fruit jam for bite-size, flaky tea-time pastries with golden browned edges. A 7-ingredient throwback for the cookie tin.

Purple plum chiffon pie with fresh plum puree, whipped cream, and fluffy egg whites set with gelatin in a baked pastry shell. Light, airy, and intensely fruity.

Simple sweetened whipped cream filling with just three ingredients: heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until stiff in 5 minutes for cakes, pastries, and pies.

Golden amaranth shortcake made with amaranth flour, whole wheat pastry flour, tahini, and almonds, topped with crushed pineapple and a blended tofu cream. Dairy-free and honey-sweetened.

Classic choux pastry profiteroles made with just 4 ingredients: water, butter, flour, and eggs. Light, hollow puffs ready to fill with cream, ice cream, or custard.

Almond cream filling made with almond paste, toasted ground almonds, and egg yolks cooked into a silky custard. A rich pastry filling for tarts, cakes, and croissants.

Boston cream pie with two split sponge layers, thick vanilla pastry custard, and a warm chocolate glaze that drips down the sides. The Massachusetts state dessert built from scratch.

Flaky puff pastry shells filled with orange-scented cream cheese whipped cream and topped with cherry pie filling. A dinner party dessert that looks dressed up but takes 30 minutes.

Old-fashioned custard pie with dried apricots simmered until tender, folded with beaten eggs and cream into a baked pastry shell.

Russian pastries (pirozhki) with a tender cream cheese dough wrapped around savory ground beef, sour cream, dill, and chopped egg. Make-ahead friendly and freezer-stable for up to a month.

Layered pumpkin walnut pie hides a buttery brown-sugar walnut praline beneath a creamy, cream-cheese-rich pumpkin custard in a shortbread crust, crowned with baked pastry leaves. A Thanksgiving showpiece.

Diabetic-friendly lemon cream pie with a blind-baked pastry crust, tart lemon custard set with gelatin, and a light whipped topping. Bright, creamy, and sugar-free.