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
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Hi i would like to know can i replace some of the milk for alcohol if i want it boozy? And if i don’t use milk but use juice how long is the shelf then?
Hey Ann, Yes you can use alcohol but I highly recommend adding the alcohol after you have taken it off the heat. So make it thicker than you need so when you add the alcohol it will be jus the right consistency. Make sense?
I never knew there was something called eggless vanilla pastry cream. I just usually never made any dessert that called for vanilla pastry cream. You just opened a whole new world of desserts for me with this recipe. It was so easy to make and it tasted so delicious on its own. The kids could not tell the difference. Thank you
Thank you, Phil. Yes, I know what you mean. This opens a whole new world of possibilities. So glad you found my recipe. Enjoy! Thank you for coming back to write this feedback.
Hi this looks gooood! Can you please tell me if I can use this along with fruits(like canned pineapple pieces) to fill cakes?
Thanks!
Yes you can definitely try it with fresh or canned fruits. Just drain the fruit well so it wont’ dilute the pastry cream too much. You can also substitute some of the milk for the juice to add more flavor. Enjoy!
Once again you have amazed me. Time and time again I return to your site and find exactly what I need to know to make something eggless and delish. I made this eggless pastry cream and created a delicious mixed berry tart to satisfy my husband’s raging sweet tooth! The pastry cream was soft, creamy and so delicious I nearly couldn’t stop myself from eating! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes and all the delight you bring to me and my family! Life long visitor here now!
Aww so happy to hear that Diana. You just made my day. I love when people have success with my recipes!! Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. I have no problem with eggs but I still often make the eggless version. It’s so simple and easy. Happy you like my recipes. Thanks for the lovely comment.
Could I use turmeric to color it? Only a bit because I wouldn’t want the custard to taste like turmeric.
Hey Simona, I have never tried turmeric!! So not sure how it will taste. Turmeric does have a strong flavor though. I prefer to use edible food color which is tasteless and flavorless. Thanks
Hi Veena,
I’m making an 11 inch tart and I wanted to know if this would make enough pastry cream for that?
Thank you!
This makes about 2 cups of pastry cream so yeah it will make a good filling for a 9-inch tart – a scant filling of an 11 inch – perhaps make double the amount – save the extra for chefs treat. I usually make 4 cups at a time and the kids are still cleaning the bowl… it’s so good.
Made this last week and it was wonderful. Just like putting velvet in the mouth. Smooth and creamy. Thank you
Thank you Vergie – Happy to hear you have great success with this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback, appreciate it very much.
I made an eggless vanilla pastry cream for the first time. I didn’t even know you could make it eggless. I was looking for a substitute for the classic and came across this. So delicious and so low in fat!!
Thank you Marilyn – Happy to hear you have great success with this recipe. I know that feeling too..!Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback, appreciate it very much.
Made this yesterday and it was so tasty. My first time making eggless vanilla pastry cream. didnt’ know it was possible. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Ralph – So happy to hear you had success with this recipe and enjoyed it. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback – appreciate it very much.
This was a perfect recipe for my tart this week. Thank you for sharing. I love custard and this turned out perfectly. Now I will make it all the time.
Thank you Nadia. Yes, this works great as a base for many desserts especially tarts. Happy to hear you are enjoying it.