Mousseline Cream (Crème Mousseline)

Close up on the cream piped inside a glass cup.

5 from 2 votes

Mousseline Cream (Crème Mousseline)

This Mousseline Cream (Crème Mousseline) is a classic French cream that is made by whipping butter into pastry cream. The rich and decadent vanilla cream is a great topping and filling for cakes and pastries!

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Resting Time2

Total Time2 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: cups (approx)

Calories: 665kcal

Author: Sylvie

Ingredients

500 ml Full Cream / Whole Milk
1 Vanilla Bean or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
4 large Egg Yolks at room temperature
60 gr Caster Sugar
40 gr Cornstarch sifted
50 gr Unsalted Butter (part 1) soft, at room temperature
200 gr Unsalted Butter (part 2) soft, at room temperature

Instructions

Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)

Place the Milk in a medium-size saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the beans inside the pod and add it to the milk along with the remaining pod. Turn on medium low heat and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan with a lid and leave to infuse for at least 20 minutes - Remove the vanilla pod.
If using vanilla paste, there is no need to let it infuse.
In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth, then mix in the cornstarch.
Slowly pour the warm milk over the egg mixture while whisking. Mix well until completely smooth then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook for 5 to 8 minutes on low heat while continuously stirring (see note 1). Once you notice large bubbles starting to puff on top of the cream, vigorously whisk for about 30 seconds to a minute then directly remove from the stove.
Away from the stove, slowly mix in the room temperature butter (part 1: 50 grams) a little bit at a time until fully incorporated. Transfer into a wide shallow dish or a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap touching its surface.
Refrigerate least an hour - or up to 24 hours (see note 2).

Adding the butter: method 1

Take the pastry cream out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before adding the butter to get it back to room temperature.
Place the soft, room temperature butter (part 2: 200 grams) in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the butter on medium high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until light, fluffy and slightly lighter in colour (see note 3).
While whisking on medium speed, slowly add the room temperature pastry cream to the butter. Add a little bit at a time, mixing well to fully incorporate the cream before adding more. When all the pastry cream has been incorporated, increase the speed to high and continue to whip for a couple more minutes. You should get a very light, fluffy mousseline cream (see note 4).

Adding the butter: method 2

Place the pastry cream in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes to loosen the cream and allow it to come back to room temperature (see note 5).
While the mixer is whipping on medium speed, slowly add a little bit of the room temperature butter cut into small cubes. Whip well until the butter has been completely incorporated before adding more until all the butter has been added.
When all the butter has been incorporated, increase the speed to high and continue to whip for a couple more minutes. You should get a very light, fluffy mousseline cream (see note 4).

Video

Notes

Make sure not to let the cream boil or go over a medium heat or you risk over-cooking the eggs, which will result in a thick, lumpy cream. Ideally, use a kitchen thermometer to check the exact temperature of your crème pâtissière. It is cooked once it reaches 82 to 84 degrees Celsius (180 to 183 degrees Farhenheit).
If chilling for more than an hour, you will need to take the cream out of the fridge and let it come back to room temperature before incorporating the rest of the butter.
The exact time will depend on the exact temperature of your butter. Stop and scrape the bowl with a spatula if / when required to get an homogeneous mixture.
If the cream gets soft, place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes then continue to whip. If you see chunks of butter that are not mixing in (the cream looks like it is splitting), leave at room temperature to warm up a bit.
If the pastry cream still feels cold after whisking for a few minutes, let it come back to room temperature for a little bit longer before adding the butter or it will split.

Nutrition