pistachio cream

Crema al Pistacchio is the most delicious Italian Pistachio Cream made with pistachios, white chocolate and milk. Use it as a filling for doughnuts, pastries and cakes or simply spread it on bread or toast. Super quick and easy!

Italian Pistachio Cream (Crema al Pistacchio)

whole milk ((190 milliliters))

unsalted butter ((30 grams))

3.5 oz white chocolate ((100 grams/about 1 cup))

sugar ((icing sugar))

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and add the shelled pistachios. Let them boil for 4 minutes then drain them and place them on a clean kitchen towel.

Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios for the skins and discard them.

Add the pistachios to a food processor with only 1/4 cup (80ml) of the milk and 1 tbsp of powdered sugar. Blitz for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. You’ll need to stop the processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. You’ll notice the pistachio turn into crumbs first then it should form into a ball when it’s reached the paste stage.

Put the remaining milk (1/2 cup/125ml), butter and white chocolate in a clean saucepan and heat on a low heat until melted, set aside.

Transfer the pistachio paste to a blender and pour in the white chocolate mixture. Blitz until extra smooth and creamy (you can adjust the consistency with more milk if desired (there’s no need to heat the milk up first).

The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks. See notes for delicious ways to use it.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1628006450/gp8xeb0lnsekygbmd0md.mp4

Italian Pistachio Cream

Crema pasticcera al pistachio, pistachio Italian pastry cream, is one of the standard and most common ingredients used in Italian pastries and cakes. It’s the creamy, custardy filling in common Italian tarts, layer cakes, and pastries. Once you make this version with a pistachio twist you will be hooked!

Italian Pistachio Cream 

egg yolks, discard whites

sugar

45 g (1/3 Cup+ 1 tablespoon) of cornstarch

3.5 oz (100 gr) blanched pistachios

liter (2 Cups) of whole milk

vanilla extract

Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios from the skins and discard the skins.

Add the pistachios to a food processor (or high power blender) with only ¼ cup (60ml) of the milk. Keep pulsing on high on and off for 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. Stop the food processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. 

 Leave pistachio mixture in the blender. Cover and set aside. Start making the cream. 

In a medium mixing bowl whip the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

 Add the egg and cornstarch mixture to the blender with the pistachio cream. Mix until combined and smooth- this is your pistachio mixture. Set aside. 

 In a sauce pan heat the milk. Turn heat to medium and warm milk until a soft boil (little bubbles on the sides and steam starts to form).

When the milk is hot, remove from heat. Using a whisk- start adding the pistachio mixture, a little at a time into the milk. It’s very important to stir constantly until you achieve a unified mixture.

Put the saucepan back on low heat and continue whisking. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes until the cream begins to thicken. It’s very important that the cream NEVER BOILS. In this way you have a smooth cream without lumps and without chunks of cooked egg.

If you have a cooking thermometer you can check that the temperature never exceeds 85°C (185 F). Otherwise, as soon as you see that bubbles begin to form in the cream, lower the heat. You can even remove it from the heat for a few seconds and put it back. 

Keep cooking on low medium heat until cream is thickened. When the cream is well thickened (it will stick to the back of a spoon and not drip off), remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Immediately pour it into a cold glass container. Important to remove the pistachio cream immediately from hot saucepan to prevent it from cooking longer.

While cooling, cover the cream with plastic wrap. Keep it in contact with the cream. This step is to avoid forming a skin on the cream surface. Refrigerate at least 3 hours for it to set.

It is just like the kind we eat in Italy!

Great recipe! The cream turned out delicious. I’m excited to make it again soon.

Follow this easy to make recipe for authentic pistachio cream! Anyone can make this delicious recipe.

super easy recipe that turned out so yummy!

If you love this recipe you will also love the pistachio gelato you can make with it!

I made it using the metric measurements, and it came out very thick. I like the way it's' not too sweet. 

It's eventually going to to become gelato (machine arrives this week), so I will continue onto the gelato recipe when it arrives.

I used pistachio paste (basically ground pistachios, nothing else) made it much easier to do.

I also mixed the milk into the eggs, not the way mentioned in the recipe since it's the way I always made creme patissiere for the past 4 decades, and never do my eggs scramble (and easier to handle).

Looking forward to the gelato.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1655519739/jju3lcqumyc1fee3mhwh.mp4

Calling all pistachio lovers! This BEST Italian Pistachio Pastry Cream is smooth, decadent, and rich. With a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes time you can enjoy it too!

Best Italian Pistachio Cream

Pistachio cream is a mouthwatering variation of the classic custard. You can enjoy it by the spoonful or use it to fill your desserts!

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Pistachio cream

The most viewed pistachio cream recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine