Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?


Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?
Let’s try and answer a question that crops up in cookery and patisserie, even if it verges on the existential: do the egg yolks in a custard recipe really need to be beaten until pale, or not?
41 K 4.3/5 (21 reviews)
Grade this page:
Last modified on: February 28th 2018
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?
You might already have noticed in many recipes combining egg yolks and sugar, how they insist that these must be beaten (or “creamed”) together until pale.

For instance, in a traditional real custard (crème anglaise) or confectioner's custard (french pastry cream) recipe, you will find it comes up frequently: first you are instructed to boil the milk, then to beat the egg yolks and sugar together for a good while until the mixture turns pale. This happens as the beating incorporates air into the mixture in the form of tiny bubbles, which create the paler colour.

caster sugar + yolks creamed



Then we pour the hot milk into the mixture and mix well. Result: a liquid (milk+yolks+sugar) and, most noticeably, a lot of froth, which we don’t need, from all the bubbles created earlier.

froth on creamed yolks



This froth will drive you up the wall for the whole time you are trying to cook the custard, as it hides the surface and only disappears when the custard starts to thicken. In a word, this froth on the top is a pain!

So, what can we do about it? Well, that’s easy: it's better just to mix the egg yolks and sugar briefly with a whisk or soft spatula, then continue with the recipe. Beating the yolks for longer until pale doesn’t add anything significant to the recipe.

While we’re on the subject, here are answers to a few basic questions:

- Does beating the egg yolks until pale serve any purpose ? No.
- Will it make any difference to the texture in my recipe if the yolks are beaten or not? No (I tested this by making a confectioner’s custard without creaming the yolks: impossible to tell the difference in either taste or texture).
- Will beating the yolks or not make a difference to how the recipe tastes? No, none whatsoever.
- Will beating the yolks until pale make any real difference to my recipe? No, other than making it take longer, for nothing…

In other words, when a recipe tells you to beat the egg yolks until pale, you can quite happily dispense with this step, as it serves no useful purpose, other than wasting your time and creating annoying froth while you cook the custard.

To sum up: Is it necessary to the cream egg yolks when making a custard? The clear answer is no. In fact, it serves no purpose in the vast majority of recipes (I’ve been looking for an exception where it might be useful, but not found one).

confectioner's custard



PS: Just one slight damper on what I’ve just said, chipped in by my son Nicholas, who is a professional cook (and his dad’s pride and joy!). He tells me that he systematically creams his egg yolks because that’s how he was taught. The froth, which is admittedly annoying, disappears just as the custard is cooked, so this is a pretty good indicator that it’s time to stop the cooking. Now that makes sense…

Lasts posts
Parsley stems
Parsley stems
Parsley, whether curly or flat, is a delicious ingredient in many recipes, where it is used both raw and cooked. When used raw, in a salad for example, where it always provides, alone or with other herbs, a remarkable freshness, only the leaves are kept. And when used cooked?
July 28th 20254013
A drizzle of olive oil
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...
July 13th 20251,0485
Always secure your cutting board
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1st 20251,0695
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...
June 29th 20259705
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe. But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad...
May 19th 20252,638 15

Other pages you may also like
The so-called "nervous" meats
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16th 202132 K4.5
Egg yolks and caster sugar
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.
February 15th 201878 K 24.3
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7th 2017129 K 14.1
Unmoulding cakes while hot
Unmoulding cakes while hot
When you make a cake, pound cake or whatever (what bakers call a "travel cake" because it's easy to carry around) you've most likely made a batter, either by hand or in a food processor, which you then pour into a buttered pan. It's a classic, and I've already talked to you about 2 or 3 tips on...
February 6th 202136 K4.6
Making the most of seeds: Dry roasting
Making the most of seeds: Dry roasting
In cooking, and particularly in baking, there are a lot of seeds we can use, such as linseed, sesame, poppy, etc. Usually, recipes simply say to add them just as they are to the mixture or dough. To make a seeded loaf, for example, prepare a plain bread dough as usual, then, towards the end of...
January 30th 201559 K4.0
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page