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This dessert is sure to impress! Light and airy puffs with a smooth and decadent pastry cream filling, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Easy Cream Puff Recipe
Cream puffs may seem complicated to make, but they are easier than they look. The dough used to make them is called pâte à choux. It’s a French pastry dough that puffs up when baked, leaving a hollow center that’s perfect for fillings. The same dough can also be used for eclairs.
The dough only takes a few simple ingredients to make and once the puffs are made, you have a world of possibilities when it comes to filling them.
Pastry Cream Filling
Cream puffs are most commonly filled with pastry cream or sweetened whipped cream. You’ve likely heard of whipped cream, but what is pastry cream? Pastry cream is a thick and rich custard that is often flavored with vanilla. I find it more flavorful and decadent than sweetened whipped cream, so that’s my go-to for filling cream puffs.
You don’t have to limit yourself to these two options, however, you can let your imagination run wild and fill your puffs with a variety of things. Chocolate pastry cream, pudding, lemon curd, caramel whipped cream, coffee whipped cream, and fruit-based fillings are just a handful of fun options.
Cream Puff Recipe Notes and Tips
Mixing the Dough – when you start to add the eggs, the dough may appear separated. That’s ok. Keep mixing and adding your eggs. The dough should come together and form a shiny, smooth, and velvety paste. It will be a pipe-able consistency and when you pull the beater up from the dough, the dough should pull up with it slightly.
Don’t Open the Oven Door – while the cream puffs bake, you may be tempted to open the oven door to check on them. It’s best, however, to leave the door shut. Cream puffs rely on steam to rise and create that hollow center that we’re looking for. Opening the oven door releases steam and drops the temperature of the oven. If you want to take a peak while they’re baking, use the oven light to look inside without opening the door.
Making the Puffs Ahead of Time – you can make the puffs ahead of time and fill them before you’re ready to serve. If you want to serve the cream puffs later that day or the next day, leave the unfilled puffs uncovered (or loosely covered) at room temperature. Avoid storing them in an air-tight container as they may get soggy. If needed, re-crisp the shells in a low oven for a few minutes before cooling and filling. Shortly before serving (up to a few hours), fill the puffs.
If you want to make the cream puff shells further in advance, they can be frozen. Once the puffs are baked and cooled, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to an air-tight container and store in the freezer until ready to use. When you are ready to make them, let the shells thaw at room temperature. If needed, re-crisp in a low oven for a few minutes. Once the shells are thawed (and cooled, if re-crisped), you can fill and serve like normal.
How to Fill Cream Puffs
There are a few different ways you can choose to fill your cream puffs:
Option 1: Fill a piping bag, fitted with a small round tip or a bismarck tip, with your filling. Using the piping tip, poke a hole in the bottom of the cream puff and gently fill. You’ll know the puff is full when it begins to feel a bit heavier or the filling inside starts pushing back against the tip of the piping bag.
Option 2: Gently insert the tip of a small knife into the bottom of each cream puff and twist to create a small hole. Alternatively, use a toothpick to poke a hole in the bottom of each cream puff and wiggle it to create a small hole. Fill a plastic bag with pastry cream, cut the corner off and use like a pastry bag to gently fill each puff with filling. You’ll know the puff is full when it begins to feel slightly firm or the filling inside starts pushing back against the tip of the bag.
Option 3: Cut the top third of each cream puff off, fill the base with filling and replace the top.
Equipment
You may enjoy having a fine-mesh strainer to ensure your pastry cream has no lumps. A hand mixer or stand mixer is nice to have to incorporate the eggs into the dough. You’ll want parchment paper and baking sheets to bake the puffs. While you can pipe the dough and fill the cream puffs using several methods, it’s nice to use a piping bag with a round piping tip (to pipe out the dough and fill the cream puff) or a filling tip (to fill the puff).
Homemade Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream Filling
Ingredients
Dough – Pâte à Choux
- 1 cup (240 g) water
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) butter
- 1 cup (120 g) flour
Filling – Pastry Cream
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cup (300 g) sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (48 g) corn starch
- 4 cups (960 g) whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) butter
Instructions
Prepare the Filling – Pastry Cream
- Add egg yolks, sugar, salt, and cornstarch to a bowl and whisk until well combined.
- In a pot heat milk and vanilla, stirring frequently until hot.
- Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, while stirring constantly, to temper the eggs.
- Return the mixture to the pot and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture starts to simmer. Once simmering, cook for an additional minute.
- Remove from heat, add butter, and stir until butter is melted and combined.
- Optional – strain through a fine-mesh strainer to ensure no lumps.
- Transfer to a shallow dish and cover with plastic wrap, allowing the plastic wrap to touch the surface of the pastry cream so it doesn't form a skin. Refrigerate until cold.
Prepare the Dough – Pâte à Choux
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Add water, salt, and butter to a pot. Place over medium/high heat and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium. Add flour and stir until combined and the dough sticks together in a ball. This takes about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and pour dough ball into a bowl or mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated between each addition. Mix dough until shiny, smooth, and velvety. When you pull the beater up from the mixture, the dough should pull up with it.
- Scoop or pipe 2 tablespoon mounds onto a lined baking sheet, spaced 3 inches apart. Each mound should be roughly 1.5 inches in diameter.
- Bake at 425℉ for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce heat to 325℉ and bake for an additional 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling the Cream Puffs
- You are ready to fill the cream puffs once the shells are completely cool and the filling is cold.
- Option 1: Fill a piping bag, fitted with a small round tip or a bismarck tip, with pastry cream. Using the piping tip, poke a hole in the bottom of the cream puff and gently fill with pastry cream. You'll know the puff is full when it begins to feel firm or the filling inside starts pushing back against the tip of the piping bag.
- Option 2: Gently insert the tip of a small knife into the bottom of each cream puff and twist to create a small hole. Alternatively, use a toothpick to poke a hole in the bottom of each cream puff and wiggle it to create a small hole. Fill a plastic bag with pastry cream, cut the corner off and use like a pastry bag to gently fill each puff with cream. You'll know the puff is full when it begins to feel firm or the filling inside starts pushing back against the tip of the bag.
- Option 3: Cut the top third of each cream puff off, fill the base with pastry cream and replace the top.
- Refrigerate for 30 – 60 minutes before serving for best texture. Optional – dust with powdered sugar before serving. Serve cold.
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