Chocolate Pastry Cream (Italian Recipe)
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Chocolaty, creamy, smooth, and rich, this Chocolate Pastry Cream (Italian Recipe) is the best filling for crostata, pastries, cakes, and more! It’s an easy 15-minute recipe and 100% delicious.
Crema pasticcera al ciocolato (aka chocolate crème patisserie) is a standard and most common ingredient in Zeppole di San Giuseppe, Italian Crostata di Frutta, and Italian Cream Crumb Cake.
Quick Look: Chocolate Pastry Cream (Italian Recipe)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Servings: 6 people
- Dietary Info: Vegetarian, Gluten-free, can be made Dairy-free
- Method: Stove top
- Technique: Whisk eggs, sugar, and cornstarch, then slowly add warm milk. Cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, then stir in chocolate until smooth and glossy.
- Flavor & Texture: Rich and chocolatey with a silky, creamy texture that is smooth, thick, and luscious.
Why You’ll Become Hooked!
This chocolate Italian pastry cream is one of those recipes that feels luxurious but is surprisingly simple to make at home. With just a handful of ingredients, it transforms into a silky, rich, and deeply chocolatey cream that’s perfect for filling pastries, layering in desserts, or enjoying by the spoonful. The gentle stovetop method creates a smooth, velvety texture that feels bakery-quality every time.
This creamy chocolate custard is incredibly versatile and pairs beautifully with so many desserts. You can even use it to fill these Sicilian Cannolis, Italian Crumble Cake or Italian Crostata.
Made With Amore,
“Excellent, love the flavor! Perfect recipe.”
– Maria
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
All you need are six ingredients and a relatively simple process to perfect chocolate creme patisserie every single time!
- Egg Yolks: Provide richness and help thicken the cream for a velvety, spoonable texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the custard and balances the intensity of the chocolate.
- Cornstarch: Gently thickens the cream for that smooth, pudding-like consistency.
- Dark Chocolate: The star ingredient that melts into the hot cream for deep, intense chocolate flavor. Choose a good-quality bar (60–70%).
- Milk: Forms the base of the cream, keeping it light yet luscious.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Flavor Add-ins: You can add extra flavor to this delicious chocolate pastry cream with the likes of cinnamon, alcohol like rum or bourbon, grand mariner, espresso for a mocha twist, and extracts such as mint or orange, etc. Try my Creme Caramel (Italian Flan Recipe).
- Less Sugar: Use some of the sugar with a granulated sweetener like erythritol/stevia. I don’t recommend substituting entire amount.
- Espresso: Add a little espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor without making this pastry cream taste like coffee. If using add it to the milk/cream right from the very beginning when heating it. You’ll love my Authentic Tiramisu.
- Dairy-free: For a dairy-free version of this recipe, you can use plant-based milk.
How to Make Chocolate Pastry Cream (Italian Recipe)
This chocolate pastry cream (crema pasticcera) or crème patissière is perfect served with profiteroles and Napoleons, inside a pie crust, or as a cake filling; the options are endless! Follow the step-by step photos and see the recipe card at the bottom for a printable version.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Heat the milk on low heat in a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean (or extract). Stir to combine. When the milk is hot, remove it from the heat.
- Add the cornstarch and cocoa powder to the egg yolk and sugar mixture and beat to combine.
- Beat for a few minutes to fully incorporate.
- Using a whisk, start adding the beaten egg, sugar, and cornstarch mixture, a little bit at a time, to the milk. Keep cooking on very low heat until the chocolate cream is thickened.
- When the cream is well thickened (it will stick to the back of a spoon and not drip off), remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth with the cream.
- Stir to combine the chocolate into the pastry cream.
- Immediately pour it into a cold glass container. While cooling, cover the cream with plastic wrap, keeping it in contact with the cream. This step is to avoid forming a skin on the cream’s surface. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours for it to set.
Chocolate Pastry Cream (Italian Recipe) FAQs
Use semisweet or dark chocolate with 50–75% cocoa for a rich, deep chocolate flavor. I personally love 70% dark chocolate—it creates a beautifully balanced cream that’s not too sweet. Prefer milk chocolate? Choose 50–60% cocoa.
Love dark chocolate? Go for 65% and up—even 80% if you’re into bold, intense flavor.
Pastry cream is thicker than custard because there’s more starch inside and it is better for tarts and fillings. Custard cream, which in Italy is called “Crema Inglese,” is often served hot, and it’s more runny than Italian Pastry Cream.
Allow the pastry cream to chill in the fridge for up to 3 days before using it. Store in an airtight container. Whisk/beat the mixture until it’s silky smooth just before using it. Do not freeze!
Serving Suggestions
This pastry cream is super versatile. There are so many ways I like to enjoy it, but two of my favorites are putting it in Puff Pastries, and Bomboloni, or serving with my Brioche Bun Recipe. You can also blind bake a pie crust and make a chocolate cream pie using my Butter Pie Crust or Crisco Pie Crust recipes. If you’re looking for something more simple, serve with berries and a dollop of whipped cream!
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Temper the Eggs: Slowly whisk hot milk into the yolks before combining everything to prevent curdling.
- Use Whole Milk: It gives the cream body and flavor without being too heavy.
- Stick to the Recipe Exactly: Pastry cream is all about technique. A few seconds can make a difference!
- Look for the Right Consistency: The final cream should be smooth, glossy, and thick—never eggy or grainy.
- Flavor Matters: Use good-quality dark chocolate and real vanilla (bean or pure extract) for rich, balanced flavor.
More Dessert Recipes
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Chocolate Pastry Cream
Ingredients
- 4 medium egg yolks, yolks ONLY
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 3.5 ounces chocolate, broken into chunks or small pieces
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean, scrape the inside of a vanilla bean pod you can also use 1 tsp of good quality pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, optional for added chocolate richness
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl whip the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the corn starch (and cocoa powder if using) and mix again for 1-2 minutes until smooth and combined.
- In a sauce pan heat the milk on low heat. Add vanilla bean (or extract). Stir to combine. Now, turn heat to medium and heat milk until a soft boil (little bubbles on the sides and steam starts to form). When the milk is hot, remove from heat. Using a whisk- start adding the beaten egg mixture a little at a time into the milk. It’s very important to stir constantly until you achieve a unified mixture.
- Put the saucepan back on low heat and continue whisking. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes until the cream begins to thicken. It’s very important that the cream NEVER BOILS. In this way you have a smooth cream without lumps and without chunks of cooked egg.
- If you have a cooking thermometer you can check that the temperature never exceeds 85°C (185 F). Otherwise, as soon as you see that bubbles begin to form in the cream, lower the heat. You can even remove it from the heat for a few seconds and put it back. This step is the only difficult step in the Pastry Cream recipe.
- Keep cooking on very low heat until cream is thickened. When the cream is well thickened (it will stick to the back of a wooden spoon or spatula and not drip off), remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth with the cream.
- Immediately pour the hot pastry cream into a cold glass container. Important to remove the cream immediately from hot saucepan to prevent it from cooking longer.
- While cooling, cover the cream with plastic wrap. Keep it in contact with the cream. This step is to avoid forming a skin on the cream surface. Refrigerate at least 3 hours for it to set.
Notes
- Temper the Eggs: Slowly whisk hot milk into the yolks before combining everything to prevent curdling.
- Use Whole Milk: It gives the cream body and flavor without being too heavy.
- Stick to the Recipe Exactly: Pastry cream is all about technique. A few seconds can make a difference!
- Look for the Right Consistency: The final cream should be smooth, glossy, and thick—never eggy or grainy.
- Flavor Matters: Use good-quality dark chocolate and real vanilla (bean or pure extract) for rich, balanced flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent, love the flavor! Perfect recipe
Thank you! So happy you loved it, Maria!
I’m getting this info off the web… confused…
How many tablespoons is 40 grams of cornstarch?
corn starch
Volume Grams Ounces
4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup 40 grams 1.41 oz
5 tablespoons 50 grams 1.76 oz
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon or 1/3 cup 54 grams 1.88 oz
6 tablespoons 60 grams 2.12 oz
Yes, about 4 tablespoons. Enjoy the recipe.
We love this chocolate pastry cream and use it for so many desserts!
this looks great- cant wait to try it
It is so silky smooth and chocolaty! I hope you love it as much as we do!