Description
Crema pasticcera, pastry cream, is one of the basic ingredients used in many Italian pastries and cakes. It’s the creamy, custardy filling in tarts, layer cakes, and pastries; it’s also the cream filling you find in morning pastries such as cornetti (Italian-style croissants- my absolute favorite!). Here is one of my favorite recipes to enjoy this crema:
Italian Crumble Cake Pastry Cream Filling (this would make a great Mother’s Day dessert or Sunday dessert)
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 medium egg yolks
- 80 g (~1/2 cup) of granulated sugar
- 40 g (1/3 cup) of cornstarch
- 1/2 liter (2 cups) of whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean (scrape the inside of a vanilla bean pod). You can also use 1 tsp of good quality pure vanilla extract (optional substitute: almond extract)
- zest of half lemon
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 cornstarch and mix again for 1-2 minutes until smooth and combined.
- In a saucepan heat the milk on low heat. Add lemon zest and 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, sugar, and cornstarch mixture, a little at a time into the hot 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. The cream must NEVER boil. 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 the cream is thickened. When the cream is well thickened (it will stick to the back of a wooden spoon and not drip off), immediately pour it into a cold glass container. Important to remove the cream immediately from the 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 skin on the cream surface. Refrigerate at least 3 hours for it to set.
Notes
Italian pastry cream will keep in the fridge for up to one week in an air tight container.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Sweet/ Dessert
- Method: Italian
- Cuisine: Italian