Cremeschnitte or Cream Slices, a fabulous dessert with a flaky puff pastry base, topped with a rich vanilla crème pâtissière and silky whipped cream and pastry flakes. Super easy to make, and so delicious!
What is Cremeschnitte?
Cremeschnitte is a very popular dessert in Europe and it is translated as Cream Slices. It is much loved in Romania as well, l've loved it ever since l was a child, and we call it Cremșnit .
It's made of a puff pasty base, topped with one layer of vanilla cream, and another layer of whipped cream, then sprinkled puff pasty flakes all over.
My mum has made it countless times, but l must say that this is my very first try at making it. This desert is sheer pleasure, so creamy and sweet. There are probably many variations of this Cremeschnitte, but my version is a lot simpler. No need to make the base from scratch, puff pastry works just fine.
You can also top the dessert with another puff pastry layer, but I find that flaking it helps with the slicing, as it's a lot neater and easier to cut.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
The base is made of ready-rolled puff pastry, which is baked until golden, then once it's cooled down, it's topped with vanilla cream, whipping cream and sprinkled with puff pastry flakes. Since that is an easy job, let's get the cream ready:
- pour half of the milk in a pan set over a medium heat
- add the sugar and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes
- the other half of the milk is mixed with the flour - whisk well to avoid lumps forming, or pass it through a sieve if it's not completely smooth
- pour the flour mixture over the sugar mixture, add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, and whisk well until the cream thickens
- remove from the pan and leave to cool slightly
- add the butter cut into cubes, and mix well to incorporate it
- leave to cool completely in the fridge
- cut the puff pastry in half, spread the cream over on half, then top it with the whipped cream beaten until stiff
- flake the remaining puff pastry, and scatter it all over the top
- refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours to firm up well
Vanilla cream for cakes
What l love about the vanilla cream is how easy it can be made. I used it before for my eclairs, without the egg yolks though. The egg yolks give a cream a pale yellow colour, as opposed to a whiter one if not used, but with or without egg yolk recipe works perfectly fine.
The plain flour can be replaced with cornflour or corn starch - one thing is crucial though for this recipe, the cream needs to be thick otherwise it will collapse when we try to slice the dessert.
It tastes amazing, it's rich, yet way healthier than those sachets of calories you buy in stores. Cremeschnitte is actually a super easy dessert, despite appearances. Do try this yumminess, it's heaven!
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Cremeschnitte Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ready-rolled puff pastry
- 500 ml milk
- 100 g plain flour
- 80 g caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 50 g butter
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour 250 ml of milk in a jug and add the flour. If you do not have flour, cornflour (corn starch) can be used instead.
- Whisk until smooth, or pass through a sieve if there are any lumps formed.
- Add the other 250 ml of milk to a pan together with the sugar, and simmer over a low heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the milk and flour mixture and whisk well.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and continue to whisk until the cream thickens well.
- Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly, and add the butter cut into small cubes.
- Mix well until the butter is fully incorporated and set aside to cool completely in the fridge.
- Pour the whipping cream in a large bowl and beat it with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. (398 Fahrenheit).
- Place the ready rolled puff pastry on the back of a baking tray, prick it with a fork in a few places, and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave it to cool.
- Cut the puff pastry in half. Place one half on a large plate and top it first with the cream, then with the whipped cream.
- Crush the other half of the puff pastry and use the flakes to sprinkle over the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight before slicing the cake.
Notes
- To see the measurements in cups and ounces, please click on the US CUSTOMARY link.
- The amount of ingredients listed can be adjusted depending on the number of servings you need, just click on the number next to SERVINGS.
Nutrition
The recipe has been updated with more text and more photos.
Rebecca
Yum! That's so cool that you could use a family recipe for this challenge! 🙂
Daniela Apostol
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Lynz Real Cooking
Lovely recipe! Thanks for sharing
Daniela Apostol
Thanks, Lynn! I enjoyed making it ?
Lina
Wow what a lovely post! So glad you took thus recipe off your mom's handwritten cookbook! I love cooking from books too! You have an amazing job! Awesome! So glad you participated ☺
Daniela Apostol
Thank you, Lina! Glad you like it! ?
Daniela Apostol
Thank you very much! 🙂
Natascha
Simple but beautiful!! Sounds perfect with a coffee!
Daniela Apostol
Thank you, Natasha! It was really nice, it was gone really quickly 🙂
Jean
Looks delicious! Love that you got the recipe from your mom's notebook... those family recipes are the best!
Daniela Apostol
Thank you very much 🙂
Jhuls
I was using my Mom's recipe of brownies before from a torn white paper she used to compile before. I could relate with you regarding the feeling.
I am glad that you used your Mom's recipe. These cream slices sound incredibly divine. I just love the combination of the puff pastry and the cream - both the flakiness and creaminess.
I am glad you participated! Nice job! 🙂
Daniela Apostol
Thank you, Jhuls! I really enjoyed the challenge!
tentimestea
What a lovely airy and creamy cake! I've never seen puff pastry flakes used to decorate a cake. It's such a pretty effect! I loved reading about your mother's recipe notebook. What a treasure, as is this recipe 🙂
Daniela Apostol
Thank you very much for your lovely comment, very nice of you! I really love this dessert, and it is delicious and easy to make. ?
CHCooks
Looks wonderful! 🙂
Daniela Apostol
Thank you 🙂
srividhya
Love the use of ready rolled puff pastry. They come in handly. I always have them in my freezer too. Wonderful cream slices.. Creamy and rich..
Daniela Apostol
thank you 🙂
Suzanne
Absolutely beautiful recipe, They look heavenly.
Daniela Apostol
Thank you, Suzanne 🙂
marie
would i use same amount of cornstarch as cornflour in this recipe..i would love to make it but am confused by cornflour
Daniela Anderson
Hi Marie! Thank you for your comment. I think in the UK it is more commonly called cornflour, but in others it is reffered to as cornstarch. It is in fact the same thing, so you can use what you have. I hope you like the recipe.
Danielatoo
Lol, I'm Daniela and I'm from Romania too. Except in the USA. <3 this recipe, and thank you so much! I will check back to see what you're cooking now and then. My heart melted when I saw the ingredient "Vanilla Sugar" because in the USA we have to buy that at the Asian market. I've been getting all my coffee drinking friends addicted to using that in their coffee.
Daniela Anderson
Hi Daniela 😊 I'm glad you liked the cremeschnitte recipe, it's one of my favourite. I know what you mean, when l moved to the UK, l was so happy to discover a Romanian shop with products l love. Where l live now l can find some Romanian goodies at a local Polish shop, so l always stock up on vanilla sugar and other baking stuff. Hope you'll like the other recipes, l tend to post a mixture of Romanian and international dishes.
Lori Keever
This dessert looks and sounds awesome! I just have one question. How much vanilla sugar is in a sachet? I make my own. I live in the United States and have never seen these sachets here.
Thanks for sharing one of your moms recipes. Cherished family recipes are the best! The wonderful memories make every recipe special, and handing them down to your kids is a sweet memory for everyone.
Daniela Anderson
Thank you for your comment! Sorry for the confusion, these sachets must be easily found in EU shops only. Each sachet has about 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar, but you can add more or less, to your taste. agree, these childhood memories are the best, they stick with us forever.
Jan
What size of pan are you using for your puff pastry? And on the back of a baking tray...explain?
Is that a standard package in EU as well as the US for the puff pastry?
This looks amazingly yummy and I want to try it, but I want to make sure I understand it so I don't mess up the recipe. I actually found Cremeschnitte mentioned in a book I am reading('Truly Madly Guilty'), and had to google it!!
Daniela Anderson
Hi Jan,
Thank you for your comment! I am not sure if you get the same size in the US, in the UK it's usually 35x22.5 cm, that would be about 12x9 inches I believe. If you get slightly different size, just adjust the amount of filling accordingly. I chose to turn the baking tray (which has similiar size) upside down, and bake the puff pastry sheet there, just to make sure it's even, but of course, it can also be baked normally in the baking tray.
It's a lovely dessert, light and refreshing, it's really tasty cold from the fridge. I hope you'll like it!
Doina
I'm ready to do this recipe. But it's not clear (for me) what happened with 2 sachets of vanilla sugar...
Daniela Anderson
Hello! Thank you for your comment! Sorry that the instructions were not clear, l have just updated them now. I forgot to add that the other 2 sachets of vanilla sugar are added to the whipped cream and beaten together. I hope this helps!
Doina
Thanks for clarification!
I have already made the cake and I put the vanilla sugar in the cream. Today I will make it once more, but I will adjust the quantities for a little bit more cream, for 600 ml milk.
Thank you again, it's delicious and very easy to do!
Daniela Anderson
I am glad you liked it 🙂
Ash
I'd love to make this, but I'm confused about the vanilla sachets? I'm unfamiliar with what this is, since I don't think we have anything like that here. What would be the American equivalent?
Thanks!
Daniela Anderson
Thank you for contacting me! I have updated the recipe now, you can use 4 teaspoons of vanilla sugar, if you have, if not, just use vanilla extract, about a teaspoon. The vanilla sugar is for extra flavour, but it can left out.
Ruth Wallisky
Larger grocery stores in the United States often have Vanilla Sugar Packets in the International section, usually in the German or European area. The brand is Dr Oetker Vanilla Sugar. It is also readily available on the internet.
It is quite easy to make vanilla sugar by burying a vanilla bean in granulated or confectioner's (powdered or icing sugar) sugar in a covered glass jar and leaving it for several weeks, shaking occasionally. You can add more sugar to the jar as you use it.
Daniela Anderson
That's a great idea about making your own vanilla sugar, I will defintiely give it a try. Thank you!
Judy
I would love to try this, but had trouble converting into US MEASUREMENTS. Can anyone help.
I came up with 3/4 cups corn flour, 1/3 cup caster sugar 3 1/2 Tbs butter, & need to know how much whopping cream thanking you in advance.
Daniela Anderson
Hi Judy! Thank you for your comment! Under ingredients, there is Metric and US Customary. If you click on the US Customary, you get the ingredients in cups and ounces. It's 1 1/4 cups whipping cream. I hope this helps.
Doctor Grandma Jeannie
I tried using "US Customary measurements". However, the vanilla extract calls for 1 teaspoon if Metric, but changes to 4 teaspoons when converted to US. That doesn't sound right to me. I suspect it is 1 tsp. no matter how you measure it! FYI.
Daniela Apostol
Thank you for your comment! Indeed, the plugin I used for automatic conversion did not convert correctly, it's 1 teaspoon not 4.