Chocolate Pastry Cream for Cake
Silky, rich, and perfect for cakes, pastries, and tarts. Adjust sweetness to taste. An easy recipe for delicious homemade desserts!
Updated : 15 July, 2025
Easy
About 20 min.
Ingredients
500 milliliters
Milk
160 grams
Dark chocolate
80 grams
Sugar
40 grams
Cornstarch
40 grams
Butter
4
Egg yolks
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Advices
Advice
You can replace sugar with a heat-stable sugar substitute.
Preparation
Step 1
You can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste. If you’re using chocolate with a cocoa content higher than 72%, it’s better to increase the sugar amount; otherwise, the cream may have a slight cocoa bitterness. The butter should be at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge in advance.
Step 2
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Place it over low heat and warm it until you see steam rising. Don’t let it come to a boil.
Step 3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar and starch. You can use only yolks, or replace them with 3 large whole eggs. The result will be nearly the same. If using whole eggs, you can reduce the amount of starch.
Step 4
In a thin stream, while stirring constantly, pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
Step 5
Pour the milk-yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return it to low heat. Cook the cream, stirring continuously, until it thickens.
Step 6
Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or over a water bath. I used chocolate with 56% cocoa content, but you can use chocolate with another cocoa percentage.
Step 7
Quickly mix the melted chocolate into the pastry cream.
Step 8
Cover the saucepan with plastic wrap, pressing it directly against the surface of the cream (“in contact”) to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool completely to room temperature or lower. In winter, I place the cream on the balcony; in summer, I put it in the fridge. To speed up cooling, it’s better to transfer the cream from the hot saucepan into a bowl.
Step 9
Then mix the softened butter into the cooled chocolate pastry cream.
Step 10
Simple chocolate pastry cream is ready. You can use it for cakes, pastries, and tartlets. I made a Napoleon cake with this cream. It’s delicious! Enjoy!