Vanilla Pastry Cream – Eggless
Vanilla pastry cream is usually made with eggs and is a perfect base for many desserts, such as fruit tarts, mousses, Bavarian creams, and ice creams. This simple and easy recipe for eggless vanilla pastry cream, or eggless Crème Pâtissière, opens up a whole new world of desserts for people who can’t have eggs.
Have you looked at a dessert and said, “Wow!”? I wish I could make that, but it has eggs. Well, now you can if you replace the regular egg-based vanilla pastry cream with this eggless version.
Compared to the classic vanilla pastry cream made with egg yolks, this one is also lower in calories and healthier. So you can indulge in a healthier dessert without losing any of the silky smooth goodness.
Why make this recipe?
- The recipe is very simple and easy, and it gets ready in less than 10 minutes.
- It is eggless. Therefore, there is no tempering of eggs, which makes this a foolproof recipe.
- And you can use it in any recipe as a substitute for vanilla pastry cream. So, all those desserts you could not enjoy before due to eggs are now possible.
- It has the same consistency and thickness as a regular vanilla pastry cream, and you can use it in almost any recipe that calls for the classic Crème Pâtissière.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Milk – Use regular full-fat milk, not low-fat milk. Milk is one of the main ingredients here, so make sure you use at least 3% fat. Low fat will just not thicken enough.
- Vanilla – You also must use good-quality vanilla for this pastry cream. It makes a huge difference. I use a vanilla bean, but you can also use 2 tbsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tbsp vanilla extract.
- Cornstarch/cornflour – In addition to the egg, this cornstarch will help thicken the pastry cream even more. You can add more or less depending on the consistency of the pastry cream you need.
Eggless pastry cream
- Combine – In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, cornstarch, flour, and vanilla bean paste or extract. Stir well until the cornflour is well combined.
- Simmer – Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the milk is hot, lower the heat to medium-low to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Consistency – Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the milk thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Pro tip – The more you cook, the thicker the pastry cream will become. - Color – At this point, you can add an egg yolk color if you want it to look like the classic pastry cream.
Pro tip – I don’t use any color in this eggless version. So you can see that the color is white.
- Store – Pour into a bowl or jar and cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming at the top.
Pro tip – If a pudding skin forms on the top, it will become very lumpy.
Eggless desserts using vanilla pastry cream
- Strawberry mousse domes with pastry cream inserts
- Mango mouse – vegetarian mango mousse
- Mango coconut cream mousse (vegan, vegetarian)
- Classic strawberry mousse
- The best chocolate mousse or Eggless chocolate mousse
- Vegan chocolate mousse
- Blackberry mousse (eggless) or Chestnut mousse (eggless)
- Vanilla Bavarian cream, Strawberry Bavarian cream
- Strawberry Bavarian cream cake
Frequently asked questions
Creme Chantilly – is basically sweetened whipped cream.
And Creme Patissiere is a vanilla pastry cream made with milk and thickened with egg yolks.
Creme Anglais is often referred to as pouring custard. Basically, it’s a runny version of pastry creme. Often, it’s used as a sauce over desserts. Made the same way as pastry cream, thickened with cornstarch along with egg yolks until it’s a pouring consistency.
While Creme Legere is pastry cream combined with Chantilly.
Creme Diplomat – is pastry cream or Crème pâtissière with stabilized whipped cream and gelatin. Often, extra flavorings are used with the cream when adding it to the creme diplomat.
The custard starts off white, and I add egg yolk food coloring gel to make it yellow. So now, my eggless version does not look any different from the classic vanilla pastry cream. I do this only when I need to show the Crème Pâtissière. If it’s used as an ingredient, I just leave it white.
Eggless Vanilla Pastry Cream or Crème Pâtissière
Vanilla pastry cream is usually made with eggs and is a perfect base for many desserts, such as fruit tarts, mousses, Bavarian creams, and ice cream. This simple and easy recipe for eggless vanilla pastry cream, or eggless Crème Pâtissière, opens up a whole new world of desserts for people who can't have eggs.
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups (470 ml) Milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar
- 2 tbsp (25 g) Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Flour or more cornstarch
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 drops Egg yellow color (optional)
Method
- Combine – In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, cornstarch, flour, and vanilla bean paste or extract. Stir well until the cornflour is well combined.
- Simmer – Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the milk is hot, lower the heat to medium-low to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Consistency – Continue to cook, stirring constantly until the milk thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Color – At this point, you can add an egg yolk color if you want it to look like the classic pastry cream.
- Store – Pour the mixture into a bowl or jar and cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming at the top.
Notes
- Ideally, a good quality vanilla bean, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract would work. I love to use the scraping and the whole vanilla bean. This gives a wonderful vanilla flavor and removes any egg smell from the pastry cream.
- You can make a dairy-free custard by simply substituting the milk in the recipe with almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. Coconut milk is my favorite, and I often use it when I make coconut mousse.
- My pastry cream is too thin –Crème pâtissière needs to be cooked until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If you take it off too quickly, it will be thin and often undercooked.
- My pastry cream is too thick – Too much starch can cause the custard to be too thick or sometimes doughy. So, always measure the ingredients well and use only the amount stated in the recipe. You can thin down a thick creme patisserie by adding a little whipped cream.
- My pastry cream is lumpy –I prefer to use a whisk and cook pastry cream on medium-low heat to keep things moving and homogenous. If the heat is high and the mixing is not even, the custard can get lumpy. Remove it from the heat – give it a good whisk and place it back on low to continue cooking. Adjust the heat accordingly.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Hi Veena
Loved the recipe. Would it be possible to make it a chocolate version using cocoa powder rather than chocolate?
Yes, you can, Minnie, but it will alter the taste. Add the cocoa powder to the mixer while still hot so the heat will help blend it.
Alternatively, you can make a cocoa paste with water and cocoa powder and add it to the pastry cream to prevent lumps.
Pastry Day 11: Pastry Cream- Done
Hi veena.. Hv been trying out ur recipes lately and they turn out to be great??thankz a lot!!
Can u put some light on what is creameux nd can it be made eggless.. If yes would like to have receipe of the eggless version of it if possible.. Thanks in advance
Kaja. Creameux is the classic pastry cream with chocolate. It looks like a mousse but is creamier. The main difference is chocolate. So when you get this pastry cream ready. All y ou need to do is add chocolate to the hot pastry cream and stir until it melts completely. I’d say about 200 grams or 7 oz in this recipe would work.
I haven’t tried yet but gave 5 stars because I’m sure it will be great based on reviews. I am curious if you or anyone else has tried as an ice cream base in an ice cream machine?
Thank you,
Kaye
Hey Kaye, yes, this pastry cream is perfect for French Ice Cream in an Ice Cream maker. Thanks
Hello! Do you think I could use this as a filling for cannolis? How can I make it more thicker?
Substitute some of the cornstarch with flour. Chill the pastry cream then fold in some whipped cream. Perfect for cannolis filling. Enjoy!
Pastry Day 11 Done
Pastry Day 11 DONE
Pastry day 11 done. Thank you