January 26, 2021

Vegan Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)

This vegan crème pâtissière (or pastry cream, or custard) is the first of many recipes that will be part of the “basics” category. It’s a staple in baking and very versatile. Whether for filling a cake, a fruit tart or eating by the spoonful, it’s a practical recipe to have.

This post will be focused on how to make a vanilla pastry cream. Because once you’ve mastered that, you can make just about any flavour by changing the extract, the milk (for coconut milk for example), adding chocolate, etc. This recipe yields the perfect base for that. It’s creamy and luscious with enough sweetness to be delicious on its own as well as in a dessert or paired with other flavours.

And if you’re still not convinced, may I also add that some of my colleagues actually preferred this version to the non-vegan one? Since I originally made this recipe for a dessert at my workplace, I had almost everyone taste it side-by-side with the non-vegan one to make sure the flavour was as close as possible. And, thankfully, it passed the test!

The ingredients for vegan crème pâtissière

The base

The milk. I tested this recipe with soy milk, almond milk and cashew milk. The sweetened/original versions of them (specifically Silk, if you’re wondering). Soy milk and cashew milk yielded the best results both in creaminess and taste. Almond milk isn’t creamy enough so it was somewhat more translucent. Basically, I would avoid any plant based milk that’s too watery, like almond and rice milk.

The vanilla. Since vanilla is the most prominent flavour in the recipe, you’ll want to use a good quality one. Most chefs will say that a whole vanilla bean is best, but obviously not everyone has that. If you do, perfect. Use it. But if you don’t, vanilla bean paste or a good vanilla extract (not imitation) will work perfectly too.

The sugar. Plain ol’ white sugar is what’s used for this recipe. Although I haven’t tested it with other kinds of sugar yet, I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. Just keep in mind that a non-white sugar will alter the colour of your cream.

The cornstarch. This is what will thicken the pastry cream and make it set (along with eggs or egg yolks in a traditional one). Some recipes use flour instead, but I like to stick to cornstarch as it thickens faster and there’s less chance of it leaving a pasty finish in your mouth.

I haven’t tried using another type of starch as cornstarch sets the firmest and is the best option. Other starches like arrowroot and tapioca starch will result in a “slimier” finish, not to mention you also need more of them for the cream to thicken properly.

The butter. This recipe has a higher ratio of butter than a regular crème pâtissière to compensate for the fact that there’s no fat coming from the eggs/yolks that are usually used. It also helps to create a creamy and thick texture.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I like to use a homemade vegan butter as much as possible (what with the whole palm oil situation and all), but use whatever is available to you! I would try to use a vegan butter that isn’t too salty and has a milder flavour to avoid it overpowering the whole cream since there’s more of it than usual.

the extras

The nutritional yeast. This is optional, especially if you use a vegan butter that has quite a bit of flavour. But I find it adds a certain something you might get from eggs. You won’t detect it at all in the finished product, it’s really just for a more “complete” flavour profile.

The turmeric. This is also optional, it’s simply for colour. Just a pinch is enough to mimic the hue that egg yolks usually give the cream.

How to make it

This isn’t a difficult recipe to make, it’s just a matter of having everything prepared so it all goes smoothly.

*Optional. If you’re using a vanilla bean, you can scrape out the seeds, whisk them with the milk in a saucepan and also add the scraped bean in. Then just bring the milk to a simmer, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit 30 mintues to infuse before pulling out the vanilla bean and proceeding with the recipe. You don’t have to do it, it just helps to amplify the vanilla flavour.

To start, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, nutritional yeast and turmeric. The sugar will help to break up any clumps of cornstarch, which will result in a smoother cream.

Have your butter cubed up and ready. It will incorporate more easily, as well as melt faster, if it’s in cubes rather than one big piece.

Bring the milk along with the vanilla of your choice up to a simmer over medium heat. If your milk is fully boiling, it will thicken very fast once you add in the dry ingredients. So to give you a chance, it’s best to add them before that happens.

Then you’ll want to add about a quarter of the simmering milk to the dry ingredients while whisking. Usually this is done to temper the eggs and avoid them scrambling from the heat shock once they’re poured in the hot milk.

But it’s also good to heat up the cornstarch gently to avoid it from clumping or thickening immediately once added to the saucepan. Plus, it’s easier for it to get evenly distributed since you’re adding one liquid to another rather than whisking dry into wet. Make sure to whisk continuously while pouring the mixture back into the saucepan.

After that, it’s a matter of whisking constantly until it thickens. Make sure to get to the corners to avoid lumps. Once you feel it start to thicken, continue whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. When you stop for a few seconds, you should see a few big bubbles forming and popping. Then turn off the heat and stir in the butter until it’s completely melted and incorporated.

Pour the pastry cream onto a flat surface like a tray or plate with edges. The thinner it’s spread, the faster it will cool. Cover it with cling wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and let cool completely in the fridge for at least one hour.

if you still get a lumpy pastry cream

If even after “tempering” the dry ingredients, whisking vigorously and getting into the corners, your pastry cream comes out lumpy, an immersion blender should do the trick. Transfer the cream to a tall but slim container and blend it (after you’ve stirred in the butter). This will smooth it out and make for a silky texture. Even without lumps, using an immersion blender improves the texture of this vegan crème pâtissière, if you want to go the extra mile. You can also strain it through a fine mesh strainer, but if it’s very lumpy, there might still be some small ones left.

How to use and store vegan crème pâtissière

When you’re ready to use it, transfer it to a bowl and stir it vigorously with a stiff spatula or whisk until smooth. It will be quite jelly-like so pressing it into the side of the bowl helps to break it up initially. You can also do this with an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

This vegan crème pâtissière will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days (always with cling wrap directly on the surface). And it can’t be frozen because it would cause it to weep and split. So I guess you’ll just have to eat any leftovers. Ah, the sacrifice.

I know this was an extra long post with a lot more mumbo jumbo than usual, but i hope it was helpful to those of you who read it! I always find this kind of stuff interesting so maybe some of you do too. Either way I’m glad you’re here! And whether you read it or not, I hope you like the recipe.

If you make this recipe please let me know in the comments! All feedback is very much appreciated and I would love to hear from you! You can also tag me on instagram @the.quaint.kitchen or use the hashtag #thequaintkitchen to share your creations!