The Kitchn’s Baking School Day 3: All about pastry cream. Join The Kitchn’s Baking School: Sign up and see all The Kitchn’s Baking School assignments Take your standard vanilla pudding. Now imagine that pudding taken to the next level — even richer, creamier, and more luxurious. That’s pastry cream. It is so good, you could eat it with just a spoon — or better yet, use it as filling in a multitude of pastries and baked goods.