Delicious thick and creamy bakery shop quality Bavarian cream is easy to make with just two simple ingredients and about five minutes. Use the cream in between the layers of a cake, or as a pie filling. You can also use this recipe to fill your cream puffs and eclairs, and making a Boston cream pie has never been so easy. Use any flavor of instant pudding mix to whip up unlimited creations to please your family and friends. Replace a quarter cup of the cream with Kahlua, Irish cream, or your favorite cordial to add some additional delight.
Bavarian cream is similar to pastry cream, both using eggs as an ingredient. Pastry cream is custard based whereas Bavarian cream is gelatin based. Boston crem is the same thing as Bavarian cream just given an American sounding name. Making either of these creams from scratch does require a bit of time and effort however this quick and easy recipe is a darn tasty substitute.
Five minutes and two ingredients is all you need to make this delicious and creamy bakery quality filling for cakes and pastries.
- 1 3.4 ounce box instant pudding mix any flavor
- 2 cups heavy cream
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Beat pudding mix and cream in a mixing bowl until thick. Refrigerate.
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Use Bavarian cream as a filling for cakes, pies, or pastries.
Any flavor of instant pudding mix can be used for this recipe.
If you require more than 2 cups of cream use the larger package and just replace the amount of milk listed on the box with heavy whipping cream.
You can add extra flavor to your cream by replacing 1/4 cup of cream with 1/4 cup of Kahlua, Bailey Irish Cream, or your favorite cordial.
I have made this several times for fillings for cakes and cupcakes. My only suggestion is to stir the pudding in the heavy cream to desolve it before whipping. sometimes it can get grainy if itis not desolved first because it thickens so fast.
I personally have not noticed a grainy texture, but I normally start slow with the mixer to avoid the pudding mix flying out of the bowl. Good tip though and thanks!
I had this problem, and I didn’t try again 😢
Overmixing can make the cream grainy. And again this is just a tasty substitute for true Bavarian cream.
Can a raspberry jam be added to this recipe?
I would think you can, I have never tried. The only thing I would think is that the cream may not hold its form as long because of the extra moisture in the jam. Give it a try, I am sure it would be delicious even if it does not hold the same. The other thing you could try is using some LorAnn flavors, unlike extracts they are concentrated and do not add extra liquid. Let me know if you try this and how it works for you! Thanks for reaching out!!
Looks great! Would it work with half and half?
I have never tried it with half and half, my thought is it might get too thick. If you give it a go, please let me know how it turns out!
Love the recipe as written, Unfortunely I could only find half and half this time and I tried a conversion I found on google to make this recipe but it wasn’t thick enough for a cake filling , I added some cream cheese to it but it’s still loose. Tastes amazing still, just thought I’d weigh in on my experiment.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know I personally have attempted a few substitutions when I did not have an ingredient, and you never know, sometimes they work out just fine.
This was sooo easy and it turned out beautifully! The trick really is to blend it until it is light and fluffy! Thank you for sharing! My family is a fan!!
I am so glad you tried this and your family enjoyed! It really is silly how easy and delicious it is. And works so well with any flavor of instant pudding for a variety of desserts.
This is just pudding and creamn not what I expected. Will this hold up for several hours or melt into the layers. Can this be used to fill eclairs, on top of cream pies, etc. Thank you. Oh. How long lasting in fridge
Yes this is just a quick version of a pastry cream. It gets as firm as you would like it. The longer you beat it the firmer it becomes. I have used it pies, cakes and filling for Napoleons and cream puffs and it has never collapsed or separated for me. I have held it in the fridge for up to a week and it was as prepared. If you are wanting a true Bavarian pastry cooked cream then this might not be for you. However if you are looking for a easy to make delicious substitute then I think you will like this.