How To Make Crème Légère
Crème Légère is the perfect blend of indulgence and lightness, ideal for those who love pastry cream but want something a bit less dense. It means ‘Light Cream’ and it’s made by folding vanilla pastry cream with whipped cream. The result is a lighter, airy cream that keeps the richness of the egg yolks and vanilla but with a more delicate texture.
It’s similar to diplomat cream, which also uses crème chantilly (a lightly sweetened whipped cream) and mix of creme patissiere. Though, diplomat cream includes gelatin for added stability.
The lovely thing about having a traditional pastry cream base recipe under your belt is that it can turn into all sorts of versatile creams – Like this creme légère, or crème mousseline (mixed with whipped butter) and crème chiboust (mixed with with Italian meringue.)
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for creme legere. Find the full list of ingredients and amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Egg Yolks: Provide richness and beautiful yellow color to the pastry cream.
- Whole milk: The base of the crème pâtissière.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar to sweeten the cream, and powdered sugar for the crème chantilly.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the pastry cream.
- Vanilla pod or vanilla extract: For classic flavor. The vanilla seeds from a pod add pretty speckles.
- Butter: For extra richness.
- Heavy whipping cream: Whip cream to stiff peaks, then fold into the pastry cream for lightness. Ensure this is nice and cold before whipping.
Method
Make the Pastry Cream
Step 1 – In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla pod on medium-high heat until it is just at a simmer – don’t let it boil.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until glossy.
Place the bowl on a dampened kitchen towel to stop it from slipping around for this next step.
Step 3. Once the milk is hot, gradually pour it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This is tempering the eggs.
Step 4. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan over medium heat. Cook the vanilla custard, whisking constantly until it starts to bubble and thicken.
Keep whisking to avoid the bottom of the pan burning and keep it at a bubble for around 1 minute. This is important to cook the custard properly so it stays thick once cooled.
Step 5. Remove from the heat and stir through the butter.
Step 6. Transfer the crème patissière to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (directly on the surface to prevent a skin), and let it cool to room temperature.
Prepare the crème chantilly
When the pastry cream has cooled, begin the cream.
Step 7. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to firm peaks. Take are not to overwhip it or it will become grainy.
Step 8. Gently fold half the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream. Follow with the remaining whipped cream, until there are no streaks of white cream remaining.
Cover and chill the crème légère until ready to use.
Variations
You can make lots of variations of Crème Légère by flavoring the initial French pastry cream first.
- Chocolate crème légère: First make a chocolate pastry cream by adding 1 tablespoon cocoa to the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Cook the custard as per the recipe. After cooking, stir through 85g of chopped dark chocolate along with the butter. Whisk until smooth.
- Citrus-infused: Infuse the pastry cream milk with lemon or orange zest for a citrusy twist.
- Coffee flavor: Add a tablespoon of instant coffee powdered to the milk warming step of the pastry cream.
- Almond crème légère: A small amount of almond extract can add a lovely nutty flavor.
Uses for Crème Légère
Here are a few ways to use this light and airy cream.
- Fruit Tarts: A light layer in fruit tarts, topped with fresh fruit.
- Choux buns and Éclairs: Fill choux pastry like cream puffs, choux au craquelin and éclairs.
- Cake Filling: Between layers of light sponge cake, or in crepe.
- Tiramisu Variation: A twist on the classic tiramisu, using crème légère instead of mascarpone for a lighter version.
Crème Légère Recipe
Ingredients
Crème pâtissière base
- 480 g whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 30 g cornstarch
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 45 g unsalted butter
Chantilly cream
- 240 g cold heavy whipping cream
- 15 g powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla pod on medium-high heat until it is just at a simmer – don't let it boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch until glossy.
- Place the bowl on a dampened kitchen towel to stop it from slipping around for this next step.
- Once the milk is hot, gradually pour it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This is tempering the eggs.
- Return the combined mixture to the saucepan over medium heat. Cook the vanilla custard, whisking constantly until it starts to bubble.
- Once it starts bubbling, it will begin to thicken, keep whisking to avoid the bottom of the pan burning. Keep it at a bubble don't stop whisking for around 1 minute. This is important to cook the custard properly so it stays thick once cooled.
- Remove from the heat and stir through the butter.
- Transfer the crème patissière to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (directly on the surface to prevent a skin), and let it cool to room temperature.
- Prepare the crème chantilly
- When the pastry cream has cooled, begin the cream.
- In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream and powdered sugar to firm peaks. Take are not to overwhip it or it will become grainy.
- Gently fold half the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream. Follow with the remaining whipped cream, until there are no streaks of white cream remaining.
- Cover and chill the crème légère until ready to use.
