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Recipes with crème pâtissière

9 recipes that use crème pâtissière, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Oranais, takes 50 minutes. It is most often cooked with caster sugar, egg and unsalted butter.

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Pain aux raisinsRaisin custard swirl pastry

Pain aux raisins, called escargot in some bakeries for its snail-shell spiral, is the third great pastry of the French breakfast counter, alongside the croissant and pain au chocolat. Croissant dough is spread with vanilla crème pâtissière, scattered with plump raisins, rolled up and sliced into spirals, then baked and brushed with syrup until glossy. The common mistake is spreading the cream too thick, so it oozes out and the spirals open. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot tea or orange juice for 30 minutes so they are juicy and do not burn.

680 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

OranaisApricot custard pastry

The oranais, also called abricotine, is a French bakery pastry that is said to come from the city of Oran in Algeria, brought back by returning pieds-noirs in the 1960s, and it is now found in boulangeries all over France for breakfast and goûter. A square of puff or croissant dough has its corners folded over a spoonful of pastry cream and two apricot halves, so it looks like a pair of eyes. The common mistake is using wet canned apricots, which make the pastry soggy. Chef's tip: drain the apricots on kitchen paper and glaze them with warm apricot jam after baking for a jewel-like shine.

50 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pain suisseCustard and chocolate brioche

Despite its name, the pain suisse is entirely French, a long rectangle of brioche-style dough folded around vanilla crème pâtissière and chocolate chips, beloved in bakeries across France as an after-school treat. The pastry cream bakes into a soft, creamy layer studded with melting chocolate. The common mistake is overfilling, so the cream leaks out the sides. Chef's tip: chill the filled strip for 20 minutes before cutting; the slices stay neat and square.

255 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Saint-HonoréChoux and caramel cream cake

The Saint-Honoré, named after the patron saint of bakers and created in a pâtisserie on the rue Saint-Honoré in Paris around 1850, is a celebration cake for christenings and saints' days: a puff pastry disc ringed with choux, a crown of caramel-dipped cream puffs and a centre of piped vanilla cream. It is a project, but each part is simple. The common mistake is touching the caramel, which burns badly. Chef's tip: dip the puffs top-down into the caramel and set them upside down on baking paper, so the tops dry flat and glassy.

140 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ReligieuseDouble choux bun

The religieuse, "nun", is a Parisian pâtisserie classic invented in the 1850s, so called because the two stacked choux buns, glazed in brown icing with a little ruff of buttercream, look like a nun in her habit. It is still a treat bought at weekend bakeries in Paris for a special goûter. The common mistake is underbaking the choux, which collapse when filled. Chef's tip: once baked, prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon and leave the choux inside for 10 minutes to dry out.

95 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte aux fraisesStrawberry tart

The tarte aux fraises arrives in French bakery windows with the first Gariguette and Plougastel strawberries in May and stays all summer, the most popular fruit tart for birthday lunches and Sunday family meals. A crisp sablé case is filled with vanilla crème pâtissière and covered in neat rows of halved strawberries, glazed for shine. The common mistake is filling the case too early, so the pastry goes soft. Chef's tip: brush the baked case with a thin layer of melted white chocolate; it seals the pastry and keeps it crisp for hours.

70 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FraisierStrawberry cream cake

The fraisier is the spring celebration cake of France, made for Mother's Day and family birthdays as soon as the first strawberries arrive: two layers of light génoise soaked in syrup, filled with vanilla mousseline cream and a ring of halved strawberries showing at the sides, finished with a thin layer of pink almond paste. The common mistake is assembling it with soft cream, so the strawberries slip. Chef's tip: build it in a ring lined with acetate and chill overnight; it slices cleanly with a hot knife.

115 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte tropézienneCream-filled brioche

The tarte tropézienne was created in Saint-Tropez in the 1950s by a Polish-born baker, and it became famous when he supplied it to a film crew on the town's beaches; today it is the summer cake of the Côte d'Azur, sold in huge rounds and by the slice. A soft brioche round topped with pearl sugar is split and filled with a light cream scented with orange-blossom water. The common mistake is using too much orange-blossom water, which tastes soapy. Chef's tip: add it a few drops at a time and taste; you want just a whisper.

265 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Puits d'amourCustard puff pastry wells

The puits d'amour, "well of love", is an 18th-century Parisian pastry still made by old-fashioned pâtisseries in the capital, especially the famous one on the rue Montorgueil: small puff pastry cases filled with vanilla cream and finished with a crackling caramelised sugar top, like a crème brûlée in pastry. The common mistake is overfilling the cases, so the cream bubbles out under the grill. Chef's tip: fill just level and use a blowtorch for the sugar, in two thin layers.

55 minFrenchDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with crème pâtissière