Cream Puffs

Name: Cream Puffs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Type 00 flour Approx. 2/3 cup (rounded) 0.67 cup; Butter 3 ½ tbsp; Whole milk ¼ cup; Water 3 ½ tbsp; Eggs (2 medium) 3.9 oz; Fine salt 1 pinch; Whole milk 1.3 cups; Sugar ½ cup; Egg yolks (about 4) 2.6 oz; Cornstarch 3.8 tbsp; Vanilla bean 1; Fine salt 1 pinch; Powdered sugar to taste

Vegetarian

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serving: 10
Cost: Low
Note + the refrigeration time in the fridge for the cream (at least 3 hours) and for the filled cream puffs (2 hours) ','seo_title':'Homemade cream puffs: an easy recipe, just like at the pastry shop'

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Lucake

Cream puffs are the entry point to French pastry — and the reason is the dough. Choux pastry is one of those preparations that seems technical until you understand the logic: water, butter, flour, and eggs cooked together into a paste that puffs in the oven and leaves a hollow center, ready to be filled. Master the choux and you have the foundation for éclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, Saint-Honoré, and croquembouche. This recipe starts with the classic version: choux shells filled with pastry cream and dusted with powdered sugar — the cream puff in its most recognizable form.

The balance that makes them work is textural: the shell is light and slightly crisp, the pastry cream inside is dense and cold. Each one is a single bite, which is why they disappear fast at any table they appear on — dessert plates, afternoon tea, end-of-meal petit fours. Once you have the choux dough down, the variations are endless. The same shells work with whipped cream, chocolate cream, or coffee pastry cream. The same technique, scaled up and assembled differently, gives you a croquembouche for a celebration or a Saint-Honoré for something more elaborate.

INGREDIENTS

For the choux pastry (for about 34 cream puffs): Type 00 flour 0.67 cup (75 g) - Approx. 2/3 cup (rounded); Butter 3 ½ tbsp (50 g); Whole milk ¼ cup (50 g); Water 3 ½ tbsp (50 g); Eggs 3.9 oz (110 g) - (2 medium); Fine salt 1 pinch

For the pastry cream: Whole milk 1.3 cups (320 g); Sugar ½ cup (100 g); Egg yolks 2.6 oz (75 g) - (about 4); Cornstarch 3.8 tbsp (30 g); Vanilla bean 1; Fine salt 1 pinch

For garnish: Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Cream Puffs

To prepare the cream puffs, start with the pastry cream: pour the milk, the split vanilla bean (without the seeds) and a pinch of salt 1 into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the egg yolks, the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean 2 and the sugar 3.

Whisk the mixture just until homogeneous 4, then add the cornstarch 5 and mix again 6.

At this point, strain the boiling milk into the bowl 7 and whisk again to incorporate 8. Pour the mixture into a clean, heavy-bottomed saucepan (do not use the one that held the milk, otherwise the cream could stick) 9 and bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring continuously.

When the cream has thickened 10, transfer it to a shallow, wide container 11 and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface 12. Let it cool first at room temperature and then place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the choux pastry: in a heavy-bottomed saucepan pour the water 13, the milk 14 and a pinch of salt 15.

Add the butter as well 16 and let it melt over low heat. When the butter has melted, add the sifted flour 17 and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon 18 to obtain a paste.

Continue cooking the mixture until a white film forms on the bottom of the pan 19. At this point transfer the paste to a bowl 20 and use a spatula to mix it and spread it along the sides so it cools quickly 21 (for this step you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, as an alternative).

Incorporate one egg at a time 22, mixing well with the spatula so it is completely absorbed 23. Once the dough is ready 34, transfer it to a piping bag (sac-a0poche) fitted with a smooth round tip about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm).

Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to form mounds about 1 3/16 in in diameter (3 cm) 25. To get a rounded shape, moisten a finger with water and gently press the tip of each mound 26. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 392b0F for about 20a0a022 minutes. Once the cream puffs are cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely 27.

After the pastry cream has cooled, whisk it to soften 28, then fill a piping bag (sac-a0poche) fitted with a smooth round tip about 1/4 inch (6a0a07 mm). Use the tip of a pair of scissors to make a small hole at the base of each cream puff 29, then insert the piping bag tip and fill them generously with the cream 30.

Dust with powdered sugar to taste 31 and let the filled cream puffs rest in the refrigerator for about 2 hours 32. Your cream puffs are ready to be enjoyed 33!

Storage

Cream puffs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Baked, unfilled cream puffs keep in a tin box—preferably ventilated—for a week, or they can be frozen.

Pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface for 2a0a03 days. Alternatively, it can be frozen for one month.

Tip

The chilling time in the refrigerator allows the cream puff to reach the ideal texture because the pastry cream will moisten the outer shell of the choux, making them softer.

When making the pastry cream, never leave the yolks in contact with the sugar without stirring, otherwise the yolks will cook and lumps will form.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.