If you’re a fan of the dreamy vanilla cream inside of éclairs and cream puffs, you need to learn the art of making Crème Légère. This versatile French cream recipe can be used in dozens of applications and can be flavored in countless ways to fit your dessert vision.
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During my time in Culinary School, we learned many different creams for pastry — crème pâtissière, crème anglaise, crème diplomate, Bavarian cream, sabayon, and chantilly cream (a.k.a. sweetened whipped cream) to name a few. While all have their strengths, the slightly less well known crème légère holds a special place in my heart.
Made by folding French pastry cream with whipped cream to give it a fluffy, cloudlike mouthfeel, crème légère is an apt name. (The meaning of “crème légère” in English is “light cream” or “lightened cream.”)
While this basic recipe is scented with the aromatic warmth of a vanilla bean, there’s a whole world of flavoring options to try. Read on below to learn all about this classic French cream filling!
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Crème Légère Recipe
- This is a foundational recipe for anyone who is serious about learning French pastry! As a bonus, it’s made with just 8 simple ingredients.
- It’s the perfect pastry cream for éclairs, cream puffs, and ethereally light cream-filled donuts.
- Légère cream can easily be tweaked to fit your flavor preferences. Vanilla is lovely, but you can branch out to make yours taste citrusy or warmly spiced, or make it taste like coffee, tea, or edible flowers.
🍴Ingredients
- Whole Milk - The French don’t mess around with low-fat dairy, especially when it comes to desserts. Whole milk is necessary for the proper viscosity and mouthfeel we’re after in the pastry cream.
- Vanilla Bean - Using a whole vanilla bean gives this éclair pastry cream unparalleled flavor.
- Large Egg Yolks - The fat and protein in the egg yolks are necessary to help the custard set up. Just so you know, I use “large” eggs in my recipes unless otherwise noted!
- Granulated Sugar - The neutral flavor and color of white sugar is ideal for letting the vanilla flavor shine through. Superfine/caster sugar or cane sugar may also be used.
- Cornstarch - This is another thickening agent that works in tandem with the egg yolks.
- Kosher Salt & Unsalted Butter - In pastry school, I learned that starting with unsalted butter and adding kosher salt to taste gives you way more control over the final flavor of your baking projects. If possible, use European-style butter that is organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured for the best results. (European-style butter has more fat than conventional American butter.)
- Heavy Cream - “Heavy” cream has a minimum of 36% milkfat, whereas “whipping” cream can range from 30-36%. For the best results, use as much fat as you can!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
⏲️ Substitutions & Variations
- Dairy-Free - You’re welcome to use full-fat canned coconut milk or full-fat barista-style oat milk in place of whole milk, vegan whipped cream or coconut cream (not sweetened Cream of Coconut) for the heavy cream, and vegan butter to make your creme legere safe for lactose-intolerant loved ones.
- Corn-Free - If you can’t eat corn, potato starch is typically a good 1-to-1 substitute.
- Budget - In a pinch, you can swap in two teaspoons of vanilla paste or vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean.
- Flavored - Infuse the milk with whatever flavor your heart desires — citrus zest, rose petals or lavender buds (culinary grade only!), tea bags, or whole spices to give the pastry cream a personalized twist. You can also use my alcohol-infused whipped cream to give your creme legere the flavor of your favorite spirits. Just make sure to omit the added sugar in the whipped cream recipe or the resulting filling may fall into cloying territory.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
📖 How to Make Crème Légère: Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Infuse Milk. In a heavy saucepan, add your scraped vanilla pod and milk together and bring to a simmer.
Step 2: Make Egg Mixture. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture lightens in color and becomes a pale yellow.
Step 3: Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in the hot milk to the egg mixture together until homogenous.
Step 4: Cook Custard. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat. When the pastry cream comes to a boil, continue to whisk constantly and boil for up to 2 minutes.
Step 5: Strain. Remove the creme patissiere from the heat and strain into a clean bowl.
Step 6: Stir in the Butter and mix until the butter is melted and mixed into the cream.
Step 7: Chill. Cover the completed creme patissiere with plastic wrap placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Place in the fridge to chill completely, about 4 hours.
Step 8: Whip heavy cream until you've reached soft peaks.
Step 9: Gently Fold about ¼ of the whipped cream into your chilled pastry cream. Add the remaining whipped cream a bit at a time and continue to gently fold the two ingredients together until they are homogenous, then set it aside for your pastry assembly!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix your whipping cream. You want to stop before you hit stiff peaks! If you’re not sure what the difference is between soft and stiff peaks, I like this visual guide.
- Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream gently and incrementally. Adding a little bit at the front end helps to loosen the custard, which makes it easier to fold the rest in without deflating it.
- Separate your eggs while they’re cold, then let the yolks come to room temperature to make tempering easier.
- Waste not, want not. Save those egg whites to make French macarons or a lovely pavlova you can then top with creme legere and macerated berries. You can also save the spent vanilla pod to make infused sugar.
- To keep your bowl from sliding around as you temper the eggs, dampen a kitchen towel, then shape it into a ring on your work surface. Place the egg bowl in the hole, and voila! No more slipping.
💭 Recipe FAQs
While both recipes start with whipped pastry cream that’s been lightened with whipped cream, crème diplomat is more stable thanks to the addition of gelatin.
This recipe for creme legere is what you’re looking for! Don’t forget to check out my crème pâtissière post, which has tons of ideas for different ways to flavor the filling.
I’d say 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or paste) = ½ of an average vanilla bean. For this recipe, that means you’ll need 2 teaspoons!
While this legere cream will slowly deflate the longer it stays in the fridge, it should keep relatively well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
More Essential Pastry Recipes You’ll Love
If you try the recipe for this Crème Légère, please leave a 🌟 review and share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter! 📧
Crème Légère - Pastry Cream Lightened with Whipped Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups (976 g) Whole milk
- 1 Vanilla Bean
- 5 (90 g) Egg Yolks
- ⅔ cup (133 g) Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup (64 g) Cornstarch
- Pinch Kosher Salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) Unsalted Butter
- 1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream, cold
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan, add your scraped vanilla bean and milk together and bring to a simmer.4 cups Whole milk, 1 Vanilla Bean
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt together in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture lightens in color and becomes a pale yellow.5 Egg Yolks, ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar, ½ cup Cornstarch, Pinch Kosher Salt
- Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in the hot milk to the egg mixture together until homogenous.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat.
- When the pastry cream comes to a boil, continue to whisk constantly and boil for up to 2 minutes. The pastry cream should reach 200F.
- Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter and mix until the butter is melted and mixed into the cream.3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Cover with plastic film placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge to cool.
- Add the cold cream into a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment - start mixing until stiff peaks form.1 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
- Add the whipped cream into the chilled and set pastry cream, mixing and whisking until combined and smooth. Allow to chill until set then use in your pastry recipes!
Notes
- Don’t overmix your whipping cream. You want to stop before you hit stiff peaks! If you’re not sure what the difference is between soft and stiff peaks, I like this visual guide.
- Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream gently and incrementally. Adding a little bit at the front end helps to loosen the custard, which makes it easier to fold the rest in without deflating it.
- Separate your eggs while they’re cold, then let the yolks come to room temperature to make tempering easier.
- Waste not, want not. Save those egg whites to make French macarons or a lovely pavlova you can then top with creme legere and macerated berries. You can also save the spent vanilla pod to make infused sugar.
- To keep your bowl from sliding around as you temper the eggs, dampen a kitchen towel, then shape it into a ring on your work surface. Place the egg bowl in the hole, and voila! No more slipping.
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