Vegan Pastry Cream (Custard)

5 from 2 votes

Make a vegan pastry cream (custard) within 10 minutes with this very easy recipe! It includes only 4 ingredients that you probably already have on hand and it makes for the BEST sweet vanilla-flavored sauce for tarts, fruit crumbles, cakes and donuts.

Cook Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: custard, healthy, sauce, Vegan, vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 164kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Ingredients

2 cups plant-based milk I used oat milk
⅓ cup cornstarch
¼ cup sweetener I used maple syrup (sugar works too)
½ tbsp vanilla extract
pinch of turmeric optional, for color

Instructions

To a small saucepan, add all the ingredients and use a whisk to combine (while the milk is still cold). You want to make sure to break all the lumps before heating up, which can take 30 seconds.
Then, turn the heat to medium and warm up the custard while stirring often (almost constantly to prevent lumps). Once it starts to bubble, keep warming and whisking for another 30 seconds and then remove from the heat.
You can serve the warm custard right away or cool it down first. Setting it aside for 1-2 hours before serving will help thicken the custard a little more. To prevent the formation of lumps while cooling down, place a plastic wrap right over the custard touching its surface.

Video

Notes

Storage tips: the custard keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days. Whisk well before serving and if you notice some lumps or want to recreate a smooth texture after storing it, then you can give it a quick blend.
For a thicker pastry cream to stuff in donuts or layer in a cake-like trifle, then you can make the custard the day before so it has time to cool down and thicken further.
Whisking vigorously to break all lumps before warming up the custard mixture is essential to avoid lumps in your cream.
See the blog post for more cooking tips and ideas on how to serve it!
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition