Pastry cream from The Art of French Pastry by Jacquy Pfeiffer and Martha Rose Shulman

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Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

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  • TheWayEyeRoll on January 24, 2022

    I made two batches. The first was a bit runny. I'd never made pastry cream before so i wasn't sure of the consistency I was looking for. The recipe says thick but that's open for interpretation. I expected it to thicken up more in the refrigerator, but it doesn't. So I tried it a second time, cooking it longer until it was closer to my desired final consistency. Both batches tasted excellent. The first was eaten like pudding. I served the second batch between sheets of puff pastry with a dusting of powdered sugar - sort of a quick Napoleon. My only complaint about the recipe was the author's method of cooling the cooked pastry cream. The author seems very concerned about bacteria growing during cool down, so he says to line a baking sheet with plastic wrap, spread the cream over that, then put plastic wrap on top and then put in the freezer for 15 minutes. It was very messy and wasteful. The second batch I put in an unlined pie tin, and covered with plastic wrap.

  • emilyrf on February 03, 2016

    I didn't love this pastry cream, although I love this book. It came out quite loose after chilling, which after a bit of research seems to be because the ratio of liquid to starch is quite high, and he only uses egg yolks. I now use a recipe from the Culinary Institute of America which is MUCH better for piping, and this utilises whole eggs and a bit more cornflour. I tend to substitute some cornflour for all purpose flour because I find it gives a glossier finish.

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