Make perfect Italian pastry custard every time! This thick, rich, smooth and creamy custard is a perfect filling for croissants, profiteroles, pandoro, tarts and many other pastries.
Crema Pasticcera, or Italian pastry custard, is a lightly sweetened lemony flavoured custard. In France it is known as crème pâtissière.
Italian custard is thicker than a regular pouring custard, or crème anglaise. It is rich, smooth and creamy making it ideal for filling profiteroles, croissants, brioche, and fruit tarts.
In fact it is so delicious you might want to eat it with a spoon!
A good family friend recently came back from Italy carrying cakes, thank you Sarah! Amongst them was this delicious pandoro, so we filled it with our favourite custard and its was a hit!
Check out the different ways we use crema pasticcera.
Featured comment
Hi Nicole,
I communicated with you prior to Christmas and just wanted to let you know the recipe was a hit! We enjoyed it as a Christmas morning treat, and it was delicious.
Cheers
Wendy
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Pandoro with custard
Pandoro is a sweet Italian ‘golden bread’ which looks most appealing sliced horizontally into star shapes, but more importantly it tastes amazing combined with Italian custard!
Pandoro farcito con crema pasticcera, or pandoro filled with custard, is wonderful with coffee or tea, and makes quite a stunning dessert!
To make this pandoro with custard:
- Cut the top off a pandoro. Slice it horizontally through the lower third of the cake to make it lower.
- Using a knife, leave one and a half inches from the exterior of the cake and cut downwards till you reach two inches before you get to the bottom. (It doesn’t matter how level the interior base will be). Continue to slice along the border in the shape of a star.
- Gently remove the cutaway filling from the centre to hollow out the cake, then fill with custard, top with berries and if you like, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
For a tart
Fill a tart with Italian custard then top with any seasonal fruit you like as we did with strawberries in this strawberry custard tart.
How to make the custard
This recipe to make crema pasticcera is quick and very simple. I usually make it in advance then cover and leave it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours.
Resting allows the flavours to develop and the result is amazing!
You will only need 6 ingredients and as this recipe uses rice flour, it is gluten-free.
The egg yolks give a wonderful richness to the custard.
Follow these tips for a delicious thick, smooth and creamy Italian pastry cream every time!
For best flavour and texture:
- pour the milk slowly into the egg mixture to temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling.
- do not leave the custard to simmer, stirring is what gives its smooth consistency.
- the custard is considered ‘done’ when it has thickened to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- transfer the custard to a chilled bowl to cool it down, and stop it from further cooking becoming too dense and thick.
Helpful tips
- Use fresh eggs, as they tend to loose their thickening properties as they become old.
- Make sure the eggs are at room temperature for easy blending.
- Whole milk (for the higher fat content), and vanilla beans or a good quality vanilla extract/paste.
- Pour the egg whites into small freezer bags then freeze to use later.
Your questions answered
Tempering eggs is the process of warming raw eggs slowly, so they mix smoothly and do not scramble when combined with a warm mixture.
Italian pastry cream can be made using cornstarch/cornflour, potato starch or rice flour. I prefer to use rice flour as the flavour is less distinguishable and it does not leave an aftertaste.
Variations
I love the freshness of the lemon zest and the combination with vanilla, but you might find any of these a better fit for your dessert:
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa and 1 teaspoon vanilla
Storing
Pour the custard into a glass bowl and place some plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard so it doesn’t form a skin. This way it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The custard will thicken while in the fridge, so whisk briefly before using to return it to its creamy consistency.
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📋 Recipe
Crema Pasticcera Italian Custard
Ingredients
- 500 grams whole milk 2 cups
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract/paste or 1 vanilla pod*
- ½ tablespoon finely grated lemon zest unwaxed lemon
- 5 large egg yolks room temperature
- 120 grams sugar ½ cup
- 40 grams rice flour or cornstarch/cornflour ⅓ cup
Instructions
- Place a medium size glass bowl in the freezer to chill.
- In a small saucepan, heat milk with the vanilla and lemon zest just till you see steam rising, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk the yolks and sugar, add rice flour and whisk till smooth and thick.
- Pour the warmed milk slowly into the egg mixture**, stirring constantly. Once fully combined, place the saucepan on medium-low heat. Keep stirring till it thickens (around 5 minutes), ensuring it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, then remove from the heat.
- Pour the custard into the chilled bowl and whisk quickly to cool it down. Place plastic film directly over the custard to prevent a skin from forming and leave on the counter to cool. Once cool, place in the fridge and use within 2 days.
Notes
- This is a great make ahead recipe as the custard tastes even better after resting.
- Use whole milk and fresh eggs for best results.
- Do not overheat the milk, just heat till you see steam rising. If it is too hot it will scramble the eggs.
- Zest half a lemon using a microplane or grater, taking care not to grate the bitter white pith.
- *If using a vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add the pod and seeds to the milk.
- Variations – instead of lemon and vanilla, add 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 tablespoon orange zest, or ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Instead of rice flour, you could use the same amount of cornstarch/cornflour or potato starch/potato flour.
- **Pour the warmed milk slowly into the egg mixture while whisking, to temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling.
- Cover with plastic film, laying it directly on top of the custard so it doesn’t form a skin, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Straight out of the fridge, the custard will be firm so before using, whisk the custard to a soft and smooth consistency.
MEASUREMENT NOTES
The ingredients here on EOTF are set out in grams & milliliters and in US cups & spoons.
Wendy
How long before serving should I pour the crema into the hollowed out pandora? I want to serve Christmas Eve around 8 pm.
Nicole Shroff
Hi Wendy, great question! The crema is thick so there isn’t a great deal of moisture, you could fill it an hour in advance then keep in a cool place. Have a great Christmas!
Wendy
Many thanks Nicole. I can’t wait to try it. Have a Merry Christmas. 🎄