Easy Strawberry Pastry Cream
A luscious strawberry cream that works with fresh, and frozen strawberries.
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Strawberry pastry cream is a fresh and fruity twist on the classic vanilla version. The process is super simple – you swap some of the milk for strawberry purée and make a few small adjustments to balance the flavors.
The result? A silky, strawberry-infused filling that works beautifully in cakes, tarts, cream puffs, and more.
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 only about 30 minutes of hands-on work.
- Works all year round. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned strawberries, so you can make it any time of year. That said, it tastes best when paired with peak-season strawberries.
- Is a creamier take on strawberry curd. While the strawberry flavor isn’t as intense as in strawberry curd, this cream has a much thicker texture and requires far fewer egg yolks.
Making strawberry pastry cream for the first time? Read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re a pro, feel free to jump 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
- Milk: Whole fat works best as the fat adds that extra bit of richness.
- Strawberries: Fresh, frozen, or canned are all fine. You’ll blend and strain them anyway, so no one will know the difference.
- 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 Strawberry Pastry Cream
- Prep Strawberries: Thaw frozen strawberries beforehand or gently cook them in a saucepan with a splash of water until they soften. If using canned strawberries, make sure to drain them well. For fresh strawberries, wash them and remove the stems.
Thaw the frozen strawberries- Gently cook with a splash of water until they soften
- Make Strawberry Puree: Pop the strawberries into a blender and blitz them into a puree. Strain this through a fine mesh sieve to eliminate seeds, aiming for a smooth texture.
- Blend strawberries
- until they turn into a puree
- Strain to remove seeds
- and aim for a smooth texture like this
- Prep Pot: Set side 1/4 cup of milk, then pour the rest into a saucepan along with the strawberry puree, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk these together until they’re nicely blended.
- Cook: Place the saucepan over medium heat and warm the mixture until it’s just about to boil, stirring regularly to avoid cooking the egg. Frequent whisking is crucial here—every 30 seconds, increasing to more frequent stirring as it heats up.
- Prep Starch Slurry: While the mixture heats, mix the reserved milk with cornstarch in a small bowl until the cornstarch is evenly dispersed.
- Add Starch Slurry: As soon as you see bubbles forming in the saucepan, remove it from the heat and swiftly stir in the starch slurry. If the slurry has settled, give it a quick stir to redistribute the starch before adding.
- Cook Until Thick and Bubbly: Return the pot to low or medium heat and keep stirring until the mixture thickens significantly and begins to bubble. This should take between 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your stove and pot. Don’t rush this step to prevent the yolks from curdling.
- Pour in the starch slurry
- Cook and keep stirring until thick and bubbly
- Take Off the Heat and Whisk: Once thickened, pull the pot off the heat and whisk vigorously for another minute to ensure it’s smoothly thickened.
- Stir in Butter: Drop in the butter and mix until it’s fully melted and incorporated into the cream.
- Whisk vigorously off heat
- Add the butter
- Mix until fully melted
- Taste Test: Carefully taste the cream—it’ll be hot! Adjust with more sugar or vanilla if needed. If you’re adding lemon juice, now is the time.
- (Optional) Strain: If you notice any lumps or cooked egg bits in your pastry cream, pour it through a strainer into a bowl to achieve a uniform texture.
- Cover and Chill: Lay plastic wrap directly on the surface to avoid a skin forming. Let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate until chilled.
- Whisk and Use: Once chilled, the cream will thicken like pudding. Break it up with a fork, then whisk it until it’s smooth enough to pipe. Now, it’s ready to use.
- Chilled strawberry pastry cream
- Whisk the refrigerated strawberry pastry cream before using
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.
Notes on Technique
Many recipes suggest adding strawberry puree to pastry cream once it’s already thickened, mainly to avoid the milk curdling from the strawberries’ acidity.
This method is perfectly fine if you’re not using a ton of strawberries—something like a 2-to-1 ratio of milk to strawberries by volume.
But if you’re aiming for a stronger strawberry flavor and want to use more puree, you might end up with not enough milk to cook the yolks without turning it into an egg scramble.
A good workaround is to reduce the strawberry puree to intensify its flavor while keeping the amount of liquid small. If you have an extra 10 to 20 minutes, it’s definitely worth reducing the puree on the stove and adding this concentrated flavor at the end.
When I’m pressed for time, I mix the strawberry puree with the milk from the get-go and use it as my liquid base. This lets me tweak the strawberry-to-milk ratio more freely.
This approach does raise the risk of some curdling, but in my experience, it’s usually not a big issue with strawberry puree, unless you’re also adding a lot of lemon juice. That’s why I suggest stirring in lemon juice only after the pastry cream is cooked.
To sum it up: if you want to keep the milk from curdling, stir in the strawberry puree after your pastry cream has thickened.
Adjusting Strawberry Flavor
The recipe as it stands gives you a pastry cream with a nice, balanced strawberry taste. Once you puree and strain the strawberries, you’ll end up with about 1 to 1 strawberry puree to milk ratio by volume.
If you prefer it a bit milder, simply cut the strawberry amount in half and up the milk by half. If you’re in the mood for something more intensely strawberry, do the opposite: boost the strawberries by half and reduce the milk accordingly. If you go this route, a little extra butter might be needed to balance out the lower milk volume.
Like I mentioned before, another way to amp up the flavor without messing with the milk quantity is to make a strawberry reduction. Double your strawberries, puree them, and simmer the mix with a little lemon juice and sugar until it’s halved in volume.
This second method makes an even better pastry cream because it keeps the flavor strong without reducing the milk. It does take more time, though, so it’s all about what fits into your schedule.
Other Recipes to Try
Looking for more? Check out the following recipes:
- Strawberry curd. Looking for a strawberry custard with a super intense strawberry flavor? This one is your best bet.
- Strawberry cream puffs. This recipe uses this exact pastry cream (turned into diplomat cream) to fill the puffs. Highly recommended if you’re intro strawberry-flavored desserts.
- Pastry cream flavors. Want to test out other pastry creams? Here’s a list of 12+ flavors I already covered.
Storage
You can store this strawberry pastry cream in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so they don’t absorb any smells.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk ~240g
- 12 oz strawberries ~340 g, or 1 cup strawberry puree
- 4 egg yolks medium or large (about 60-70 g)
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch ~40 g
- 7 tablespoons sugar ~87 g
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice (~20 ml, optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter ~28 g
Instructions
- Strawberry Prep: Thaw or gently cook frozen strawberries; drain canned ones well; wash and de-stem fresh strawberries.12 oz strawberries
- Puree: Blend strawberries into a puree and strain for smoothness.
- Mix Ingredients: In a saucepan, combine all but 1/4 cup of milk with the strawberry puree, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk well.1 cup milk, 4 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 7 tablespoons sugar
- Heat Mixture: Cook over medium heat until nearly boiling, stirring frequently to prevent the yolks from curdling.
- Cornstarch Slurry: Mix the reserved milk with cornstarch until smooth.4 tablespoons cornstarch
- Combine Slurry: Add the slurry to the heated mixture as soon as bubbles appear, stirring quickly.
- Thicken Cream: Return to heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 2-4 minutes.
- Finish Cooking: Remove from heat, whisk vigorously for a minute to smooth out the texture.
- Add Butter: Incorporate butter into the cream until melted and smooth.2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Season to Taste: Adjust sweetness and flavor with additional sugar or vanilla; add lemon juice if using.4 teaspoons lemon juice
- Strain (Optional): Strain to remove any lumps or cooked egg bits.
- Cool and Chill: Cover with plastic wrap, let cool at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.
- Whisk Before Using: Whisk until smooth and ready for use.