Get ready to explore a plant-based chocolate pastry cream recipe that is easy, delicately creamy, marvelous in flavor and versatile!
If I could marry pastry cream, I would! – Unknown
What is pastry cream?
Pastry cream, or crème patisserie, is a stirred, cooked custard that is often used in delicate French pastries or as a base for certain classic desserts, for example, crème Chiboust.
Making this luxury cream in a traditional manner will require ingredients such as eggs, milk, sugar, and starch.
Pastry cream differs from other custards, as it can be boiled. This is due to the starch that prevents the eggs from curdling.
Some popular flavors to alternate vanilla pastry cream with are chocolate, coffee extract and fruits. Sounds delicious, right?
A dairy-free custard!
Today’s recipe is a plant-based chocolate version that uses coconut milk as a dairy-free alternative!
This pastry cream is flavored with both cocoa powder, which also acts as a plant-based thickening agent, and a quality bittersweet chocolate.
Is tempering required?
The short answer is, no. Tempering (“heating gradually”) is a method used in the classic making of custard.
However, in this recipe, simply combine the coconut milk, starch and sugar. Strain the mix into a cold saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook to thicken, then remove from the stove and stir in the remaining ingredients. Voila!
How to use this recipe?
You can use chocolate pastry cream for a variety of baked goods.
Fill cookies, like shortbread, or pipe into eclairs. Give a gateau a fancy swirl, or top with seasonal fruit and served as a pudding!
CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM WITH COCONUT MILK
Ingredients
A – combine
- 0.025 kg all-purpose flour
- 0.025 kg cocoa powder
- 0.050 kg corn starch
- 0.100 kg demerara sugar
- 0.001 kg salt
B – add, then strain and cook
- 0.500 kg coconut milk
C – add lastly
- 0.025 kg dark chocolate 70% (chopped)
- 0.025 kg dairy-free butter
Instructions
Cooking
- Group A – combine the ingredients together. Add a little coconut milk to make a paste, then pour in the remaining liquid and combine.
- Strain the mix into a cold saucepan and bring to a simmer, while stirring. Boil 1 – 2 minutes.
- Remove from the stove and transfer to a clean mixing bowl.
- Stir in the butter, then the chocolate.
- Cover the cream with plastic, lightly touching the surface. This prevents a skin from forming on the surface.
- Cool to ambiance, then refrigerate 3 hours, or overnight.
Piping/ filling
- Loosen the pastry cream with a whisk, then fill a piping bag and pipe as desired.
Notes
- dairy-free butter, with 80% “butterfat”
- dark chocolate 70%
Yumolicious! 😍🍃
Thank you!
That looks amazing!
Thank you, Diane!