Crème Pâtissière / French Pastry Cream

Chiffon Sponge Cake filled with Crème Pâtissière and strawberries.

Crème Pâtissière is the French pastry cream (or custard) used in all sorts of desserts, tarts and cakes. Traditionally only egg yolks and no egg whites are used to make this French custard. In this homemade version, I compromise and use 2 whole eggs so there are not too much leftover egg whites. In doing this, I usually use 1 tablespoon custard powder for some added golden colour in the custard.

Makes approx. 2 cups (500ml), or about 800g pastry cream

[Ingredients]
500ml (2 cups) milk
2 whole eggs *
2 egg yolks *
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40g (4 tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch) **, or 30g cornflour and 10g custard powder
pinch salt (only if not adding butter, or using unsalted butter)
50g butter (optional), for additional shine and firmness

* The 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks may be substituted with 4-6 egg yolks. If using 4-6 egg yolks, then no need to use any custard powder in the ingredients.
** The 40g cornflour may be substituted with 40g (4 scant tablespoons) cake flour.
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[Preparation]
1. Whisk together whole eggs, egg yolks, 60ml (1/4 cup) milk, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, cornflour and salt if using.
2. Bring the remaining milk just to the boil in a saucepan. Pour the hot milk in small stream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly with a balloon whisk as you pour (very important). Once incorporated, pour everything back into the saucepan.
3. Whisk the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and firms up. Remove from heat and whisk in butter if using.
4. Pour the hot custard into a bowl and plunge the bottom of the bowl into another larger bowl of iced-water to cool, give it a whisk occasionally. Once it reaches room temperature, cover the surface of the Crème Pâtissière with cling film to prevent a skin layer forming. Alternatively, fill the Crème Pâtissière into a piping bag fixed with a star or round nozzle, twist the open end to seal up the cream. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Use a piece of cling film to cover the surface of Crème Pâtissière if not used immediately (the cling film has just been removed in the picture).

Texture: Smooth, creamy and luscious
Consume: Best within 24 hours
Storage: Cover surface with cling film and chill in the refrigerator
Recipe References: -