What is the difference between crème Anglaise and pastry cream?

First let's start with what they are separately. Crème Anglaise is actually what you have before you add the ingredients to make pastry cream. It is a dessert sauce, very pourable and is flavored much like a pastry cream. It is also the base for many ice creams (it's what I use when I make homemade ice cream anyway)-actually, I just make the crème and then throw it in the ice cream maker. The best vanilla ice cream I've ever had and I hate vanilla ice cream. I will actually eat it without dumping chocolate sauce on it and anyone who knows me, knows that's noteworthy. A recipe can be found here which is sinful to be sure. I'm biased though; I grew up eating crepes and Christmas wouldn't be the same without them on the breakfast table. It's a bit labor intensive, but if you're feeling up to it, good for you!

Pastry cream (also called crème pâtissière)is what you typically find in éclairs, Boston cream pie, and tarts. You might think of it as soft pudding. It holds its shape, to a degree, and is thick and can be flavored with vanilla, chocolate, lemon or other extracts. I use vanilla almost exclusively, but have been known to use chocolate on rare occasions. It is made the same way creme Anglaise is, but cornstarch is added to thicken it to the proper consistency. When I make cream puffs, my kids actually have to be thrown out of the kitchen or else there will be little fingers in the finished product. I don't blame them, it takes most of my self control to not take the lead in the “finger sample sneak”. If you want to see something funny, make this in a big bowl and laugh when your kids (or spouse) sticks their head into the bowl to get the cream off the bottom. Classic.

Both crème Anglaise and pastry cream are cooked (while being stirred) on the stove, not in the oven in a water bath, which is one way they are different from custards like crème brulee. They also contain egg yolks and not whole eggs-another difference from baked custard.

Now you know the difference between the two and I've included a link for recipes for both crème Anglaise and pastry cream so that you can try them for yourselves. I know what my favorite is, which one will you like better?