How to make Pastry Cream

or crème pâtissière

November 28, 2025 • Desserts Frosting / Fondant Icing / (Butter) Cream Sinterklaas

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400 ml whole milk
50g caster sugar (for the milk)
1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large free-range organic egg yolks
50g caster sugar (for the yolks)
40g plain flour

Sinterklaas is a wonderful time of the year, but then we're very busy! Today we're making the pastry cream for the Sinterklaasslof (Sinterklaascake), which we'll finish tomorrow. Making pastry cream isn't difficult, but it does require careful attention and a lot of stirring. So, especially when the cream starts to thicken, you have to pay close attention!

Here is how you make pastry cream

Pour the milk and the sugar together in a saucepan.

Whisk milk and sugar together and place it on low heat.

Scrape the vanilla pod empty, add pod and seed to the milk.

Place the pan with the vanilla mixture back on low heat.

Let the milk mixture steep for about 15 minutes, then remove it from the heat, discard the vanilla pod and let the mixture cool slightly

Place the egg yolks with the sugar and flour in a bowl.

Beat the mixture together until it looks pale en airy.

Pour a dash of warm milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk it in.

While whisking, pour in the remaining milk in a tiny stream.

Keep whisking until the milk is fully incorporated.

When the mixture looks pale and airy pour it back in the pan.

Place the pan over medium heat and stir constantly.

Lower the heat when you feel the mixture thickening on the bottom

Keep stirring vigorously until you like the thickness.

Pour the pastry cream into a bowl and press cling film on top.

Place the lid on the bowl and place the bowl in the refrigerator to allow the pastry cream to set overnight

Tomorrow we finish the Sinterklaas slof!