An extremely rich and chocolatey, gluten-free & low carb chocolate pastry cream which is perfect for filling pastries and pies, an ice cream base, or thinned for pudding.
As you probably know by now, I love puddings and pastry creams and anything chocolate. This chocolate pastry cream brings the total of recipes for pastry cream on this blog to a grand total of three. I have a dairy-free coconut milk pastry cream, a basic low carb vanilla pastry cream and now, this uber thick and rich chocolate pastry cream – which is basically a super thick low carb chocolate pudding.
As I've said in several posts, I think everyone should learn how to make some of the basics – like pastry cream. The basics are the jumping-off points for great recipes. If you have a few basic pie crust recipes in your repertoire, you can make almost any pie. A few basic things like lemon curd or pastry cream can be turned into pie filings, tart fillings, parfaits, trifles, cake fillings or frozen treats.
Knowing a few good basic recipes frees one from having to follow complex recipes and fosters creativity. Honestly, most more complex recipes are really just variations of basic techniques or several basic recipes put together.
I really love this recipe. It's thick enough that it can be whipped a little to lighten the texture, it can easily be used as a layer for a birthday cake – either on its own or lightened with whipped cream, it's a great base for ice cream, mixed with whipped cream it makes a terrific pie filling, and thinned with some almond milk it becomes the perfect pudding.
Low Carb Chocolate Pastry Cream = 3 net carbs per serving
[Disclosure: This recipe contains affiliate links.]
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup erythritol
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 large whole eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite
- Ready a strainer by the stove, finely chop the chocolate and have the butter ready.
- Place the cream and almond milk in a medium sauce pan or pot (about a 6 cup capacity), and turn the heat to medium - low.
Add the erythriltol, cornstarch, xanthan gum, cocoa powder and salt to a medium heat-proof mixing bowl and mix together with a small whisk. Add the 2 whole eggs and the three yolks to the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk together.
- If bubbling and simmering hasn't occurred around the sides of the saucepan, turn the heat up to medium until it does. Then turn-off the heat and while whisking the egg mixture continuously, pour all of the cream into the mixing bowl in a thin stream.
- Put the pot back on the stove and scrape the egg and cream mixture into the pot. Quickly rinse out the bowl, swipe with a paper towel, and set next to the stove with the strainer over the top.
- Turn the heat to medium low and begin whisking the pastry cream mixture. Nothing will happen for about 2 1/2 minutes and then it will start to thicken-up slightly. Whisk a little faster. At about the 3 - 3 1/2 minute mark, it will begin to thicken. Whisk briskly and cook for 1 minute more BUT don't let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove, still whisking briskly for another minute. Whisk in the vanilla, stevia glycerite, chopped chocolate and butter. Then, pour the pastry cream through the strainer, catching any cooked egg bits.
To cool, push a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the surface of the pastry cream and place in the refrigerator OR make a water bath by putting ice and water in a large bowl, setting the smaller bowl with the pastry cream into the water bath, and stirring until cool. Then cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or best if overnight. Makes about 2 cups.
1 serving equals 1/2 cup.
How do you get away with using cornstarch? Scary to me, that’s all.
Hi Linda. It only adds 1 carb per serving. I tested this recipe extensively will all thickener combinations and amounts. This combination produced the best product with acceptable carb counts to me. Using xanthan gum made the pastry cream gummy and slippery while using glucomannan made it gloppy. I only use starchy thickeners when I believe it’s the best option. I try my best to offer recipes as close to the real thing as possible with as low a carb count as I can get without sacrificing texture or flavor. Ultimately, you can tweak the recipe to suit your needs. I hope this helps. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Can I use 4 T cocoa powder and cornstarch instead of xanthum gum in this recipe ?
Yes you may Brenda, but I suggest to make the recipe as written if you are going to make the Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna. The only reason I say this is because I has previously tried to change the recipe to lower the carbs, and it didn’t work in the chocolate lasagna recipe. Please see my previous answer for more information on subs. -Kim
What can you use in place of xanthum gum if u don’t have it? And I only have cocoa powder. Can I use 4 T to make it enough chocolate flavor?
Great questions, Brenda. The baking chocolate helps the pastry cream firm up if you are using this as part of the Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna, I would follow the recipe but add 1 teaspoon more of cornstarch or arrowroot if you are skipping the xanthan gum. If this is going to be a pudding, add more cocoa powder to taste to sub for the bakign chocolate and don’t worry about the xanthan gum. -Kim
Kim, I made the chocolate lasagna dessert for Christmas last year and it was amazing! This year, I put my twelve-year-old in charge of the pudding, and after four hours in the fridge it’s not whipping up and is milkshake consistency! Did my daughter likely skip a step, or does it just need longer? My daughter did her best and I don’t want to cross examine her about whether she followed the recipe correctly!
Tania. It could one of two reasons. It could be that it wasn’t cooked long enough or it could be because I reduced how much cornstarch (or arrowroot) was in the recipe because I got so many complains about it not being low carb. I can’t get to my computer (I’m with my mom in the hospital). Let me look at the recipe and I will reply again. -kim
Okay Tanya, try 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and it should be better. Also, make sure that the pastry cream is hot enough to very slowly bubble if stirring. I’m sorry, but I won’t be near my phone much during the weekend and upcoming week. I’ll be in the hospital. So sorry. -Kim
could you sub coconut cream for the whipping cream?!??!? This looks TOO good!
Sure, Monika! It would be awesome! -Kim
I can’t wait to make this!….so many ideas. Thank you!
You’re very welcome Diana. Happy creating! -Kim
Could you use coconut milk instead of almond milk?
Absolutely, Gayle! Enjoy. -Kim
Kim, this looks so lovely! Question, where do you get your erythritol? We don’t have a Whole Foods and I don’t think Harris Teeter carries it…. But we have a tiny local health food store that might have it. Would it be where the sugar is? Thanks. xoxo
Love your new picture, Katie! Great question. To test my recipes, I order the cheapest 5 pound bag from Amazon. It is cheaper than what I can get locally at the healthy food store. You don’t have to worry about a non-gmo or organic source, once it is extracted from plant fiber and refined it becomes a pure compound with nothing of its source remaining. Erythritol has 60% the sweetness of sugar so I augment with stevia. Some erythritol brands add stevia or chicory root fiber to bump the sweetness to that of Sugar. A popular brand is Swerve – available in granular and powdered form. I like Sukrin that I buy from the Sukrin USA site. It is mixed with stevia. Check out this article about what is available in low carb sweeteners. I hope this helps Katie! Ttys. -Kim
Lovely (new) photo, Kim!!
Thanks’s Fran. I appreciate it! Have a nice weekend. -Kim
Oh wow, this looks all chocolaty, creamy, and yummy! Thanks 🙂
Oh this looks SO good! And very useful!
This would be so good a dip for strawberries!
This needs to be in my mouth RIGHT NOW! I probably would just eat it by the spoonful! It looks amazing!
Lol. Thanks, Sarah! It was good whipped and eaten like pudding. Then, I made it into a pie! Yum! -Kim
This looks wonderful! What are you going to make with it next? 🙂
Thanks. Maya. Maybe a chocolate pie! -Kim
Instead of worrying over the eggs cooking, could you also cook the ingredients and add the eggs and vanilla at the end…similar to making a cream pie? Then you would not have to strain it.
Kim, that’s a great question. All of the recipes I have seen for pastry cream or homemade pudding recipes call for tempering and then cooking the eggs to form a custard. I’m not sure that the eggs would cook completely nor the pastry cream be thick enough with out that step (actually, with all of the chocolate, it may be). The straining is really just a fail-safe just in case some of the whites cooked hard…
So to clarify, you’re saying to add the salt, sugar, and cornstarch to the pot and stir, add the liquids and stir, bring to a simmer and then add the chocolate and stir to melt. Then add the eggs and vanilla right at the end (off heat?) using the residual heat to cook the eggs? I haven’t tried it. Can you link to a recipe so I can see the procedure? I’m interested. Thanks! -Kim
Do you have a breakdown on this recipes ingredients? I don’t see how these ingredients can add up to 40 grams of Carbohydrates and 10 grams of fiber.
Hi Margie. Thanks for your question. I type the raw weight of all ingredients in my recipes into a program called MasterCook. It does all of the calculations for me. So, no, I don’t have an itemized breakdown of the nutrients in each ingredient – the program doesn’t work that way and I’m not interested in presenting the recipe that way. But I hope this helps explain…
The heavy cream does contain carbohydrates and there is 1 cup in the recipe, the eggs are about .33 carb per each, the cocoa powder has 3 carbs and 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon, and the baking chocolate has 9 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber per square. It all adds up. If you are using this as a pudding, whip it on high for about 1-2 minutes and it should expand as it traps air bubbles giving you a larger serving size – about 1/3 cup or 89 mls. I hope this helps answer your question. Have a great day – Kim
Could coconut cream be substituted for the heavy cream? I would love to have this, but unfortunately dairy and I are not friends even though I wish we could be. 🙁
Oh, yes, Jill. It would be amazing! Let me know how it works. -Kim
I made this last night- so delicious, it’s hard to believe it’s virtually carb-free. My new favourite dessert (and sometimes breakfast. .. shhhh!) Thank you so much!
Katy. I’m so happy you like it. I love it, too. Rich, chocolate pudding is the best! I don’t blame you for having it for breakfast! Your secret is safe with me! -Kim
We are doing a Diabetic Walk on Saturday and my question is can I make this the night before because we will be leaving early that day Thganks
Just came upon your sight today and have found many recipes and good reviews that is what I like to see.
Thank you sooooooooooooo much.
Hello, Cecelia. Yes, absolutely! The pastry cream can be made several days before. I know that this question is in regards to the Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna so I will answer in regards to that.
I would make the whole dessert the day before because it gets better as it sits. Just to let you know. If you make the pastry cream a day or so ahead, it will get stiff in the fridge and it may be a little stiff to spread on the cream cheese layer. Take it out an hour before you need it and whip it really good with a hand beater before adding the milk. Then it should be good for spreading. Have fun on the walk. -Kim
Can i substitute xanthum gum for the cornstarch?
Thanks for your question Jeff. I have found that xanthan gum makes the pastry cream a little slimy and rubbery and doesn’t thicken in the same way. You could substitute arrowroot powder for the cornstarch or leave the starch out, but it will produce a pastry cream that is a little less firm. If you are making this as part of the Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna, then I would reduce the amount of milk in the “pudding” layer or perhaps leave it out. Let the pastry cream get really cold and see how stiff it is after beating with a hand mixer. If it is stiff and not the consistency of pudding, then add a little milk. Go slowly, because it won’t firm back up if too much is added. If you are making the pastry cream for another application like a pie filling and are mixing it with whipped cream, then add 1/8 teaspoon to the whipped cream and it will help with the texture. I hope this was helpful! -Kim
This looks delicious! Quick question:
The recipe calls for 2 eggs and then 3 eggs. Do I use 2 or 3? Or 5?
When I separate the eggs, do I add all to the recipe or just the yolks?
I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, thanks for your question. The recipe uses 3 large egg yolks and 2 large whole eggs, so a total of 5 eggs will be needed, but 3 egg whites will be left over. Is that any clearer? Let me know. Have a nice day! -Kim
Pictures don’t lie (unless it’s my Facebook profile picture)! This looks marvelous! And my doctor would approve. Excellent!
Hi David. I don’t look like my facebook picture either! LOL. Thanks for the nice compliment. Have a nice weekend. -Kim
Will arrowroot work in place of the cornstarch?
Hi Malainie. Yes! In fact, I made both lemon curd & vanilla pastry cream with arrowroot the other day. It worked great. Have a nice weekend! -Kim