Coffee Pastry Cream

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Coffee pastry cream is a simple coffee-flavored cream you can whip up in 20 minutes using pantry staples. Once cooked and cooled, you can use it to fill éclairs or cream puffs, layer in cakes or layered desserts, or even spread in tarts and pies.

Recipe Info

This recipe:

• Is simple. Coffee pastry cream is just a tiny twist on vanilla pastry cream. The only difference is you need to add the coffee flavor.
• Comes together quickly. You’ll spend about 20 to 25 minutes actively making the cream, plus an extra couple of minutes if you’re brewing coffee instead of using it in powdered form.
• Is versatile. I typically make this pastry cream with instant coffee, but using espresso powder or brewing a tiny amount of coffee and using it to flavor the cream work just as well.

Making coffee pastry cream for the first time? Be sure to check out the ingredient notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re already familiar, feel free to jump straight to the recipe card.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutes

• Milk: Whole fat is best, but skim is also okay. Milk alternatives work well, though they may slightly alter the final flavor. If using one with added sugar, reduce the sugar amount in the recipe by half. You can use a coffee-flavored milk alternative, omitting the instant coffee unless you want a supercharged high-octane coffee cream.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is ideal due to its relatively high thickening temperature. You can substitute it with half the amount of potato starch, but allow the cooked milk mixture to cool slightly before adding it to the eggs to prevent premature thickening. For more information, check out my article on cornstarch versus potato starch.
• Egg Yolks: Our second thickening agent.
• Sugar: Regular white sugar is fine, but brown sugar is a great alternative if you prefer its taste with coffee. Sugar substitutes are also okay.
• Instant Coffee: This is our primary flavoring. It’s convenient and doesn’t require brewing. Substitute with half the amount of espresso powder if needed. If you’re out of instant coffee and espresso powder, I cover how to use regular coffee in the tips section.
• Vanilla Extract: Optional but recommended for enhancing flavor. Use half the amount typically used in vanilla pastry cream.
• Unsalted Butter: Plain unsalted butter is all you need.

How to Make Coffee Pastry Cream

1. Boil Coffee and Milk: Measure the milk into a pot, stir in the vanilla extract, instant coffee, and sugar, and bring the mixture almost to a boil.

2. Prep Yolks: While the milk heats, whisk the yolks, cornstarch, and about 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture (while it’s still lukewarm) in a large heatproof bowl. The addition of the milk mixture loosens the yolks and cornstarch, so exact measurements aren’t critical here. Set the bowl aside.

3. Temper Eggs: As the milk approaches boiling, remove it from the heat. Gradually pour a few tablespoons of the coffee and milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the yolks from curdling. Repeat this process 3 to 4 times until all the milk is incorporated. Keep stirring throughout.

4. Cook Until Thick and Bubbly: Return the combined mixture to the pot used for the milk. Cook over low or medium heat, stirring constantly, until it noticeably thickens and begins to bubble. This usually takes 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the pot and heat intensity. Avoid rushing to prevent curdling of the yolks.

5. Take Off the Heat and Whisk: Once thick, remove the pot from the heat and continue whisking for about a minute to bring the mixture past the point of maximum thickness.
6. Stir in Butter: Add the butter to the pot and stir until it melts and is fully integrated into the cream.

7. Taste Test: Taste the cream (carefully, as it’s hot) and add more sugar or instant coffee if needed. The heat should melt both sugar and instant coffee granules easily.
8. Cover and Chill: Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming. Let it cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Then refrigerate (still covered) until ready to use.

9. Whisk and Use: The pastry cream will look like stiff pudding after you remove it from the fridge. This is expected. Start by “chopping” it with a fork, then switch to a whisk and stir until it becomes somewhat smooth. After this, it’s ready for piping.

This preparation method is the gold standard for pastry creams, but it’s not the only one. You could also go with the alternative approach of cooking everything (except the cornstarch and some milk) together until almost boiling and thickening it with cornstarch. I cover this approach in detail in the vanilla pastry cream article.

Tips

• Chill on a Plate. To speed up the chilling process, pour it onto a large plate or bowl. Or a couple of them. A larger surface area helps it cool down much faster.
• Make It in Advance. This pastry cream keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, so you can easily prepare it the day before you need it. I usually make all the pastry creams I need a day earlier and assemble the dessert the day I’m serving it.

• Keep Whisking. Whisking is crucial in this recipe to avoid curdling the yolks, so don’t skip it. If you do, you’ll end up with curdled yolks that don’t do your pastry creams any favors.
• Use Regular Coffee. If using regular coffee beans, brew a 1/4 cup of strong espresso and reduce the milk by 1/4 cup. Combine the coffee with the milk in the initial step and proceed as per the recipe.
• Make it lighter. This cream is delicious but might be a bit rich if used in large quantities, like when filling cream puffs. To lighten it, fold in whipped cream and stabilize it with gelatin. This setup is called diplomat cream, and I got a big guide on making diplomat cream.
• Make it richer and sturdier. While this pastry cream pipes okayish, it’s not nearly as sturdy as buttercream. If you need a richer, more stable version that holds its shape well, and you don’t want to work with gelatin, turn it into cream mousseline. The linked article explains the whole process.

Storage

You can store this pastry cream for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so that it doesn’t absorb any smells.

Recipes to Try

Looking for more? Check out the following recipes:

• Coffee Cream Puffs. A simple cream puffs, where the puffs are filled with this exact pastry cream.
• Tiramisu Cream Puffs. Another cream puffs recipe. This time, we add a bit of that same coffee pastry cream inside, and fill the remaining space with mascarpone cream.
• Pastry cream flavors. Want to test out other pastry creams? Here’s a list of 12+ flavors I already covered.

Coffee Pastry Cream

A little coffee, a little whisking, and a whole lot of flavor.

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Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert, Filling

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Coffee, Cream Patisserie, Custard, Filling, Pastry Cream

Servings: 2.25 cups

Author: Marcin Skrzypiec

Equipment

• Whisk

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk ~480g
• 4 egg yolks medium or large (about 60-70g)
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch ~40g
• 7 tablespoons sugar ~87g
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee ~4g, or 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter ~28g

Instructions

• Boil Milk: In a pot, mix milk with instant coffee, vanilla extract and sugar, and heat until almost boiling.
  2 cups milk, 2 teaspoons instant coffee, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 7 tablespoons sugar
• Prep Yolks: While the milk heats, whisk yolks, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture (while it's still lukewarm) in a bowl.
  4 tablespoons cornstarch, 4 egg yolks
• Temper Eggs: Gradually add a few tablespoons of hot milk to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Repeat until all milk is incorporated.
• Thicken Cream: Return mixture to the pot and cook on low/medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and bubbles (2-4 minutes).
• Off Heat Whisking: Once thick, remove from heat and whisk for another minute.
• Add Butter: Stir butter into the mixture until melted and integrated.
  2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Taste and Adjust: Taste the cream and add more sugar or vanilla if needed.
• Chill: Cover with plastic wrap touching the cream's surface to avoid crust formation. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
• Final Whisk: Before use, "chop" the chilled cream with a fork, then whisk until smooth. It's now ready for piping.

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Notes

This recipe uses less sugar than most other pastry cream recipes out there. Make sure to taste the pastry cream and adjust the sugar if needed. It should be sweet, but not so that the vanilla flavor is barely noticeable.

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