Black Raspberry Pastry Cream

Black raspberry crepe cake
Stok-Yard Studio / Getty Images
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 10 servings
Yield: 2 cups

If you've had the chance to eat fresh black raspberries, you know that their fresh, sweet flavor has no equal. Similar to a raspberry in shape but closer to blackberry in color, these delicious berries make great additions to varied desserts. When added for flavor into pastry cream, they make a luscious and flavorful mixture that you can use to fill tarts, eclairs, doughnuts, cream puffs, or any other treat you can think of. This straightforward recipe for black raspberry pastry cream is an easy preparation that you can make ahead and chill until ready to use. Made with wholesome ingredients like milk, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and flour and flavored with berries, vanilla, and a touch of delicious Chambord blackberry liqueur, this pastry cream has a wonderful flavor that pairs especially well with dark chocolate, citrus, and vanilla. Use it in a layered cake or as a tasty filler for a cake roll.

Mostly found in the Pacific Northwest, black raspberries grow in cooler climates, so they might be difficult to come by in other areas of North America. Nonetheless, you might be lucky enough to find them frozen. For this recipe, you need one-quarter of a cup of the fruit puree, which requires approximately one cup of fresh fruit. Of course, if finding black raspberries proves difficult, you can use regular raspberries or blackberries.

Be mindful that this recipe contains liqueur, even if a small quantity, so it might not be suitable for people who need to abstain from it for dietary or personal reasons. Chambord brings to the cream a wonderfully bold berry flavor. A raspberry and cognac-based liqueur produced in France since 1982 and flavored with citrus, vanilla, and fruit, it is a delicious after-dinner drink widely used in baking to flavor desserts, from custards to sauces. This pastry cream can be refrigerated for up to three days, but the sooner you use it the better the flavor and texture.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk

  • 3 large egg yolks

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • 8 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1/4 cup black raspberries puree, strained

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 teaspoons Chambord

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until it is just hot enough to steam.

  3. While the milk is warming, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and cornstarch until the mixture is completely smooth.

  4. Once the milk is steaming, add half of it, whisking constantly, to the egg mixture.

  5. Add the milk and eggs back into the hot milk, continue stirring, and heat it for 1 to 2 minutes, until the custard reaches 170 F on a digital thermometer and is very thick.

  6. Remove from the heat, stir in the black raspberry puree, vanilla extract, and Chambord. Chill the cream before filling the pastry.

Raw Egg Warning

Consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs poses a risk of food-borne illness.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
81 Calories
3g Fat
10g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories 81
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 77mg 26%
Sodium 36mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 4%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg 4%
Calcium 46mg 4%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 69mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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