Differences between types of pastry creams - Marie Claire
By Ingrid BoinetUpdated on ShareSend by e-mail
I certify that I will not send unwanted e-mailsCrème pâtissière, mousseline, chiboust, princesse… If you get lost among the many types of cream that exist in pastry, here is a small inventory that will help you find your way. How to recognize and prepare them? For which recipe to use them? You will know all about the differences between these creams, for ever more gourmet desserts!Whether you are a beginner in the kitchen or a seasoned chef, it happens that you get lost among all the names of creams. First of all, note that there is a distinction between pastry cream and its 5 variations (mousseline, chiboust, princesse, diplomate and frangipane) from other creams (English, Chantilly, Bavarian, etc.). Then there are quite specific criteria that you need to know if you do not want to mix between all the cream recipes. To make it easier for you, we have listed all the differences between pastry creams.
What is pastry cream?
One could say that it is the best known of the creams. The recipe for pastry cream is simple: a little milk, egg yolks, powdered sugar and flour (or cornflour). It is most often given the taste of vanilla, but it can also be chocolate, coffee, lemon, and even rosemary. You can also add a little alcohol such as rum or Grand Marnier to flavor it.
Pastry cream is used with recipes for cream puffs, Saint-Honoré, strawberry tart or even bourdaloue tart.
Read also: On video: recipes for winter dishes:What is the mousseline cream?
Mousseline cream is simply pastry cream with added butter. His recipe has a particularity: you have to incorporate the butter twice. A first time when the pastry cream is hot, a second time when the cream is cold. It is smoother than pastry cream and lighter than traditional buttercream.
In pastry, it is ideal for a Paris-Brest, a strawberry tart or a blackberry tart.
What is chiboust cream?
Chiboust cream is made from boiling pastry cream and an Italian meringue mixture. It is usually flavored with vanilla.
Chiboust cream is suitable for Saint-Honoré, but also babas, wells of love, mille-feuilles, nuns or choux.
Read also: What is the difference between French, Swiss and Italian meringue?
What is Princess Cream?
Princess cream or Madame cream is made up of pastry cream and whipped cream.
It is perfect for filling cabbage, tarts, or to be used as a dessert.
What is diplomat cream?
Diplomat cream is very similar to princess cream, its only difference is that it is made of gelatin.
It is used for mille-feuilles, rhubarb and blueberry pies, strawberry tarts, strawberries, Saint-Tropez pies or for number cakes, these number-shaped birthday cakes.
Read also: How to use agar-agar in cooking?What is frangipane cream?
Frangipane cream is made with pastry cream and almond cream. There are also recipes for low-fat frangipane creams. Frangipane cream is most often almond-flavored, but you can find chocolate or speculoos recipes.
It is well known, with frangipane cream you can make homemade galettes des rois, but you can also use it for other recipes such as frangipane tartlets with strawberries.
What is Buttercream?
Buttercream is made from softened butter, eggs, sugar, and sometimes milk. There are several techniques for making buttercream: with boiled sugar, meringue, bomb dough, milk...
You can use buttercream to garnish yule logs, operas, cupcakes and other layered cakes.
What is whipped cream?
Do we really have to present the famous whipped cream? This light whipped cream is obtained by whipping very cold fresh cream with sugar and vanilla. It is not difficult to make, you just have to make sure you have fresh utensils and ingredients and not to beat it too long or you will get butter. If it is most often flavored with vanilla, it is quite possible (and good!) to have whipped cream prepared with lime, honey, rose, raspberries and many others.
You could eat whipped cream with everything: with raw or cooked fruit, pancakes, cakes of all kinds, topping a chouquette, a strawberry pie or a rum baba!
What is custard?
Unlike the creams mentioned above, custard is an accompaniment and not an ingredient incorporated into a recipe. Custard is the result of a mixture of milk, egg yolks and sugar. It's very easy to make, you can even prepare it in the microwave. There are vanilla, orange, lemon but also dark chocolate or praline, anise, or even star anise. You can even flavor it with alcohol.
It is used in floating islands, a chocolate cake, with ice cream or as a base for Bavarian cream.
What is Bavarian Cream?
Bavarian cream is made from custard to which gelatin and whipped cream are added.
With bavarois cream, you can make bavarois, but also mousses, entremets, fruit charlottes.
What is Almond Cream?
Almond cream is made with butter, sugar, eggs and almond powder.
It is used with many pastries both in recipes and as accompaniments. For example, it can be used for galettes des rois, pithiviers, clafoutis, snow eggs, brioches, fruit gratins or pancakes.
What is the sabayon?
In pastry, the sabayon is a cream composed of egg yolks, sugar and cooked with sweet wine or fruit juice. Its consistency is more airy than custard. It is served hot or warm as a topping.
You can make sabayons with red fruits, pistachios, grapes, ginger, port, strawberries and many others.
The summary of the differences between creams in pastry
Pastry cream and its variations
Other creams:
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