Mousseline Cream: the recipe of the typical French pastry cream

The mousseline cream (pronounced moos-eh-leen) is a basic preparation typical of French pastries whose ratio is made up of 2 parts of pastry cream and 1 part of butter. Mousseline cream is a silky, vanilla-based cream that stays firm, ideal for decorating and filling cakes, cream puffs and all those typical pastry desserts.

The original recipe is by Ladurée, master of French pastry, and it is a custard whipped with butter, and that will allow you to make perfect desserts without smudging. Here's how to prepare it to perfection.

Tips for making Traditional Mousseline Cream

Even if the amount of butter seems excessive to you, do not reduce the dose, otherwise the mousseline cream will not have the right consistency, and the taste will also be affected.

Those who prefer can spice up the base of the mousseline cream: you can add liqueurs, chocolate, lemon zest, crumbled dried fruit or almond, hazelnut or crunchy crunch or whatever you prefer.

The mousseline cream is ideal for filling paris-brest, the choux pastry-based French dessert, but it is also excellent for filling sponge cake or millefoglie cakes. It will remain firm and compact, giving a unique flavor to your preparations.

You can also use the mousseline cream as a substitute for buttercream, which can also be used to decorate cupcakes.

How to store Mousseline Cream

You can store the mousseline cream in the fridge for 1 day, covered with plastic wrap. But remember to take it out at least half an hour before using it. As soon as it is back to room temperature, mount it again with the whisk, so as to soften it, and use it for your preparations.

Can you freeze Mousseline Cream?

You can also freeze the mousseline cream for up to 3 months. Before using it, let it re-aerate it.

How to make Mousseline Cream

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the seeds of the vanilla bean.

Cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let it sit for a quarter of an hour.

In the meantime, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the cornstarch and continue mixing with the whisk.

Remove the vanilla bean from the milk and let it simmer again.

Add 1/3 of the milk to the egg mixture and mix everything with the whisk by hand.

Place the mixture in a saucepan with the rest of the milk and simmer, stirring constantly. As soon as the cream has thickened, let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Add half of the butter cut into small pieces and mix in the cream, which should be hot but not boiling.

Pour the cream into a container and cover with the cling film. Beat the cream with the electric mixer, so as to make it smooth and homogeneous.

Add the rest of the butter. Continue to mix with the electric whisk until the mixture is creamy.

Serve the mousseline cream or use it as sweet filling. Enjoy!