pastry cream

noun

: a thick custard that is made of eggs, sugar, milk, flour or cornstarch, and usually flavoring and that is typically used as a filling for pastries and other baked goods

Once you've become comfortable with the technique for making pastry cream, opportunities abound for the versatile baker's staple. You can use it as a filling for cream puffs, éclairs, fruit tarts, and cakes …

—Kristina Razon

Pastry cream is an anomaly among custards. Although overheating a typical custard can lead to curdling, it's vital to bring pastry cream almost to a boil. Doing so sets the eggs and activates the starch, thereby ensuring a proper consistency.

—Bryan Roof

Guests will go wild for these little pies. They're at once delicate and decadent, the airy puffs of crisp meringue giving way to rich, vanilla-flavored pastry cream and a sprightly mix of fresh fruit.

—Lillian Cho

Examples of pastry cream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our Snowy Christmas Pavlova is just one example of how crisp layers of baked meringue can be sandwiched with fillings (everything from curds, to fresh fruit, pastry cream, and more) and stacked into an elegant design. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2024

Conwell whipped up cream puffs and pastry cream from Betty Crocker’s classic cookbook, worked as a buser and server at the local country club and eventually was recruited to make the famous cinnamon-and-cheese rolls that club members wolfed down. —Kimberly Winter Stern, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2024

Even their smallest pies have a whole scoop of pastry cream inside. —Pamela Wright, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023

The official state dessert of Massachusetts, Boston Cream Pie is a golden cake filled with pastry cream and topped with decadent chocolate ganache. —Kathleen Felton, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Nov. 2023

The choux pastry is baked and cooled and then filled with pastry cream before being topped with a chocolate glaze or chocolate ganache to complete the delicious treat. —Molly Allen, Southern Living, 9 Nov. 2023

Your best friends will enjoy flavors such as vanilla custard, chai pastry cream, lemon curd, and chocolate ganache. —Moriah Mason, Southern Living, 12 Oct. 2023

The real showstopper in this dish is the homemade caramelized pastry cream. —Laura Denby, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Sep. 2023

Traditional French-style fresh-fruit tarts involve a short, sweet crust and vanilla pastry cream filling. —G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 15 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above