Simple Raspberry Pastry Cream
A tangy twist on a classic filling.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our privacy policy.
This raspberry pastry cream is a smooth, creamier take on raspberry curd—perfect for tarts, cakes, or éclairs. It’s beginner-friendly, works with fresh or frozen berries, and comes together in about 30 minutes.
Recipe Info
This recipe:
- Is beginner-friendly. If you’ve made pastry cream before, this will feel like second nature. And if you haven’t, the process is simple and takes about 30 – 35 minutes of hands-on work. Getting rid of the raspberry seeds is a bit of a pain, but that’s what’s needed for a silky smooth cream.
- Works all year round. You can use fresh or frozen raspberries, so you can make it any time of year. That said, it tastes best when paired with peak-season fresh raspberries.
- Is a creamier take on raspberry curd. While the raspberry flavor isn’t as intense as in raspberry curd, this cream has a much thicker texture and requires far fewer egg yolks.
First time making raspberry pastry cream? Read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to go straight to the recipe card.
Extra Learning
Before we jump in, here’s a few handy resources to help you nail this recipe:
- How to Temper Eggs. My quick guide to tempering eggs—a handy technique you’ll use when making this pastry cream. If you’ve never heard of it or never tried it before, be sure to give this a read.
- How to Make Pastry Cream. Your go-to guide for everything pastry cream. Learn the methods, uses, tips, and more. New to pastry creams? Start here.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutes
- Raspberries. Use either fresh or frozen. If opting for raspberry puree, reduce the quantity by one-third and adjust to taste.
- Milk: Whole fat works best as the fat adds that extra bit of richness.
- Lemon juice. Optional, but helps enhance the flavor.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is best but you can also use potato starch, just halve the amount. Check out my article on cornstarch versus potato starch for more details.
- Sugar: Regular white sugar works well, but feel free to use any sweetener you like. Remember to adjust the amount when using alternatives like xylitol or stevia.
- Egg Yolks.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds an extra bit of flavor to the cream, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you skipped it. If you want to use vanilla beans instead, check out my article on creme patissiere where I cover infusing the milk with beans.
- Butter: Use unsalted full-fat butter for best results.
How to Make Raspberry Pastry Cream
- Pudding Prep. Reserve one-third of the milk. Pour the rest into a pot with sugar, egg yolks, and lemon juice, and stir well. Add the raspberries, mix again, and heat until near boiling, stirring often. Then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the raspberries break down.
Add the ingredients to the pot- Heat and stir
- Simmer until raspberries soften
- Blend and Strain. Remove from heat, blend with an immersion blender, and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Rinse the pot to remove seeds and raspberry bits, then return the strained mixture to it and heat until almost boiling.
- Pour blended mixture into the sieve
- Strain out raspberry bits
- Prepare Starch Slurry. Mix the reserved milk with starch in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Add the cornstarch slurry. As the milk mixture goes from warm to hot, stir in the starch slurry.
- Cook until thick and bubbly. Cook the mixture over low or medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and starts to bubble. This typically takes 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the pot and heat intensity. Avoid rushing the process to prevent the yolks from curdling.
- Take off the heat and whisk. Once the mixture is thick, remove the pot from the heat and continue whisking for about a minute, bringing the mixture past the point of maximum thickness.
- Stir in butter. Add the butter to the pot and stir until it melts and integrates into the cream.
- Taste test. Sample the cream (be cautious; it’s hot) and add more sugar or lemon juice if necessary.
- (Optional) Strain. If you’re worried about any curdled egg yolk or want to ensure a silky smooth cream, strain it.
- Cover and chill. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming. Leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to cool slightly. Then refrigerate (covered) until you’re ready to use it.
- Whisk and use. The pastry cream will have a stiff, pudding-like texture when removed from the fridge. This is normal, so don’t freak out. To use it, start by “chopping” it up with a fork, then switch to a whisk and stir for a minute or two until it becomes smooth (ish). Once done, it’s ready for use.
Tips
- 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 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 nicely, 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. Plus, I’ve included some photos below.
- Faster chilling. Spread the pudding on a large plate or in a bowl to cool quicker.
- Make in advance. The pastry cream holds its shape for 3 to 4 days, so it can be made ahead of time.
Transform It into Raspberry Mousseline Cream
Want the pastry cream to become richer and hold its shape well after piping? Turn it into mousseline cream.
Here’s how :
- Prep the Butter. Cube the butter and bring it to room temperature, so it’s ready when the pudding is.
- Whip. Whip the room-temperature butter, starting slow and increasing to high speed until aerated. Gradually mix in the cooled pudding, one tablespoon at a time, until well incorporated and creamy.
- Whip the softened butter
- Add the cooled pudding gradually while mixing.
- Taste Test. Adjust the sweetness with powdered sugar if needed.
- Refrigerate. Chill the cream for at least an hour before using, allowing it to thicken and set.
Other Recipes to Try
Looking for more? Check out the following recipes:
- Raspberry cream puffs. Delicious cream puffs filled with this pastry cream turned into creme mousseline. There’s a bit of work involved, but totally worth it.
- Raspberry curd. A punchier, silkier alternative to this raspberry pastry cream. Raspberry curd skips the milk and cornstarch, relying on extra eggs and yolks for a softer, more fluid texture with an intense berry flavor.
- Pastry cream flavors. Want to test out other pastry creams? Here’s a list of 12+ flavors I already covered.
Storage
Once prepared, you can store this pastry cream in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so that it doesn’t absorb any smells.
As mentioned earlier, the pastry cream keeps its shape well for the time you store it, so you can prepare it in advance if needed.
Servings: 2.25 cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.25 cup milk ~300 g
- 4 egg yolks medium or large (about 60-70 g)
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch ~40 g
- 7 tablespoons sugar ~87 g, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter ~28 g
- 8.5 oz raspberries ~ 240 g, fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Pudding Prep. Reserve one-third of the milk. Pour the rest into a pot with sugar, egg yolks, and lemon juice, and stir well. Add the raspberries, mix again, and heat until near boiling, stirring often. Then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the raspberries break down.1.25 cup milk, 4 egg yolks, 7 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 8.5 oz raspberries
- Blend and Strain. Remove from heat, blend with an immersion blender, and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Rinse the pot to remove seeds and raspberry bits, then return the strained mixture to it and heat until almost boiling.
- Prepare Starch Slurry. Mix the reserved milk with starch in a separate bowl until smooth.4 tablespoons cornstarch
- Add Cornstarch Slurry. As the milk mixture goes from warm to hot a boil, stir in the starch slurry.
- Thicken Cream. 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 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Taste and Adjust. Taste the cream and add more sugar, salt, or vanilla if needed.
- (Optional) Strain. If you're not sure your pastry cream is nice and smooth, strain it.
- 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Hi
I made this recipe-it was going really great but I am wondering if I did something wrong, the butter seemed to curdle a little. It’s not quite as smooth a texture as in your picture. Did that happen due to the pudding mix not being chilled enough?
The overall flavor is great. Thanks
Hey Lynsie, were both the butter and pudding mix at around the same temperature? And did you add the pudding slowly portion by portion? I only had curdling issues with this setup when the butter wasn’t properly whipped or when I tried to add a whole bunch of pudding at once instead of slowly bit by bit.
Did a half batch of this recipe last night as a test; it came out great! Ready to do a big batch tonight to fill some cream puffs. Some observations and challenges:
I had only bland raspberries; despite this the flavor still showed up great in the finished product.
I lost a lot of puree trying to strain the seeds out, so had to cut the amount of corn starch. I would start with half the starch and then add more by the teaspoon next time. My puree got too thick and was difficult to incorporate with the butter.
It helps to put the puree into the strainer then run the back of a big spoon along the inside, stirring and pushing the puree through the mesh. My strainer is too fine and this was taking a long time, so I just accepted some seeds.
There is no quantity listed for the lemon juice, so I went for 1 TBSP for a half batch and it seemed to work well.