Base (500g batch)
- 500 g whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 80 g egg yolks
- 90 g sugar
- 30 g plain flour
- 30 g cornstarch
Grolet enriched version
- 450 g whole milk
- 50 g whipping cream
- 2–5 vanilla pods
- 90 g egg yolks
- 90 g sugar
- 25 g cornstarch
- 25 g plain flour
- 50 g butter
- 40 g mascarpone
Add-ons
- 200 g dark chocolate 70% (for choc)
- 36 ml espresso + 30g butter (for coffee)
The workhorse base used in éclairs, Paris-Brest mousseline, fraisier, tarts, and mille-feuille. The base CAP formula is reliable and neutral. Grolet's enriched version — with cream, butter, and mascarpone — is richer and glossier, worth it when the cream will be piped and visible.
Method
Infuse
- Combine milk (and cream if using the Grolet version) with the vanilla pod, split and scraped. Bring to a boil, cover, and rest 10 min off heat.
Base
- Whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale. Whisk in flour and cornstarch until smooth.
- Bring milk back to a boil. Pour over the yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly to temper.
- Return everything to the pan. Whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens and bubbles. Keep whisking for 1 full minute after the first bubble — this cooks out the raw starch flavour.
Finish & cool
- Off heat, whisk in butter and mascarpone if using the Grolet version.
- For chocolate: add chopped chocolate while cream is still hot and blend with a hand blender.
- Lay plastic wrap directly on the surface — no gaps. Rest 40 min in the freezer (not to freeze — just to cool rapidly). The cream should be slightly jiggly going in.
- Transfer to the fridge. Whisk smooth before using.
Coffee version: whisk in 36 ml espresso and 30 g butter at the same time as the flour and cornstarch, then proceed normally.
Background
The one-minute boil after thickening is non-negotiable. Raw starch tastes floury and the cream will thin as it cools if undercooked. The direct plastic wrap prevents a skin — once formed, it folds back in and creates lumps that can't be removed. The freezer method speeds the temperature drop and limits bacterial growth; a cream left cooling at room temperature for an hour is a food safety issue.
Grolet's enriched version adds cream to the milk and butter + mascarpone at the end. It sets softer and pipes with more gloss — worth using when the cream will be eaten on its own (as in an éclair or mille-feuille). For mousseline (the base of fraisier and Paris-Brest), use the standard CAP version cold and beaten into softened butter.
Mistakes I've Made
- Not boiling for long enough after thickening. The cream thinned in the fridge and tasted starchy. One full minute of boiling is the minimum.
- Letting a skin form before wrapping. Impossible to smooth out completely — it creates lumps throughout.
- Adding chocolate to cold cream. It seizes. Always add off the heat while the cream is still hot, then blend.
- Using the cream warm in a mousseline. It must be completely cold before beating with butter — warm cream melts the butter and the mousseline breaks.
Sources
- Crème Pâtissière (CAP) —
- Crème Pâtissière (Grolet) —
- Éclairs Day —