About Vegan Pastry Cream
Custard cream, or in this case, the vegan pastry cream, also known as crème pâtissière in French, is a classic filling used in various desserts like éclairs, cream puffs, tarts, and cakes. Normally, custard is made with eggs and dairy.

This vegan pastry cream recipe does not contain any dairy or eggs. It also doesn’t contain wheat flour, which makes it gluten free. Despite having no eggs, dairy, or gluten, the vegan custard cream tastes as good as the regular one. Use this pastry cream to make the gluten free yule log cake vegan.
A good custard cream is only possible with vanilla. Real vanilla beans taste better than artificial extract. Ground-dried vanilla powder is also a good alternative. Frangipane – a mixture of pastry cream and almond cream tastes ten times better with a strong vanilla flavor.
When making vegan frangipane, mix 20% of the vegan pastry cream with the almond cream. Frangipane is an excellent filling for vegan almond croissants.

Three vegan Pastry cream variations
What makes custard cream versatile is its adaptability. Adding chocolates, coffee, or nut paste produces a variety of flavors for specific uses. It is also the base for vegan mousseline cream used for this delicious Strawberry cake.

Here are some vegan pastry cream variations commonly used in baking:
- Pistachio Custard Cream – pistachio paste is added to the custard for a rich and creamy pistachio-flavored custard cream.
- Chocolate Custard Cream – chocolate chips are added to the warm vanilla custard to produce a luscious chocolate custard cream.
- Coffee Custard Cream – instant coffee granules or concentrated coffee extract are added to the vanilla custard to make a coffee pastry cream.

Quick and easy vegan pastry cream recipe
Compared to the traditional custard cream recipe, which involves many steps, making it vegan is more straightforward. All ingredients are mixed well and then cooked on medium heat until thick. That is why this vegan custard recipe is fast and easy to make.
Turn this amazing Pistachio custard tart vegan using the same vegan pastry cream recipe.

Key ingredients and substitutes
- Barista oat milk – has more fat content, and oat milk works well with baking and cooking.
- Agar-agar powder – added in small amounts as a thickener.
- Cornstarch – added as a thickener in the absence of eggs.
- Vanilla – an essential ingredient that gives custard cream its flavor.
Substitution Table
Original Ingredients | Substitute With |
---|---|
Oat milk, barista | Rice milk, barista |
Cornstarch | Cassava starch |
Agar-agar powder | Vegan gelatin |
Violife vegan butter | Flora+ Vegan Butter |
Step By Step Instructions
Mixing Ingredients
- Combine all ingredients except vegan butter in a saucepan. Whisk well until well mixed.

Cooking Pastry Cream
- Cook on medium heat while continuously stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Then, let the custard cream cool for about five minutes.


Making Variations
- Add the cold vegan butter while the custard is warm. Mix well with a wire whisk until the butter is fully incorporated. Mix with a hand blender for a smoother texture.
- Any ingredients (for variations) must be added at this point. Chocolate melts well if added when the custard is hot but not boiling.


Storage & Chilling
- Transfer to a clean, dry container and cover the surface with a cling wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for an hour before use. Cool down to room temperature if you use the vegan pastry cream to make a vegan mousseline.


Best Vegan Pastry Cream
By Rommel@BakefreeEquipment
- hand blender
- silicon spatula
Ingredients
- 500 g oat milk barista gluten free
- 100 g sugar
- 55 g cornstarch
- 2 g agar-agar powder
- 2 g vanilla powder or 10 ml vanilla extract
- 60 g vegan butter Violife Vegan Butter preferred
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except vegan butter in a saucepan. Whisk well until well mixed.
- Cook on medium heat while continuously stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Then, let the custard cream cool for about five minutes.
- Add the cold vegan butter while the custard is warm. Mix well with a wire whisk until the butter is fully incorporated. Mix with a hand blender for a smoother texture. Any ingredients (for variations) must be added at this point. Chocolate melts well if added when the custard is hot but not boiling.
- Transfer to a clean, dry container and cover the surface with a cling wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for an hour before use.
- Cool down to room temperature if you use the vegan pastry cream to make a vegan mousseline.
Notes
- You must continually stir the custard cream while cooking to prevent the cornstarch from sitting at the bottom of the pan. It will take time to thicken the custard.