Cream puffs make me giddy. As I was sitting at my kitchen table eating one yesterday, I actually started laughing with joy. Laughing in disbelief that something so magical and delicious just came out of my kitchen. True story: my husband walked into the kitchen this morning and said, “I was dreaming about those cream puffs.” I’m telling you: they’re literally dreamy.
A cream puff starts with choux (pronounced SHOE) pastry. It sounds foreign and intimidating, but it’s pretty simple to make. Choux pastry is the same batter used to make eclairs. It’s cooked over the stove, then baked in the oven.
Once puffed in the oven, the pastry has a crisp, light shell and a hollow center, perfect for filling with creamy goodness.
Traditionally, cream puffs are filled with sweetened whipped cream. I make mine a little differently. I do like whipped cream—on an ice cream sundae or topping a pie—but I’m not crazy about a big bite of whipped cream on its own.
Here’s where pastry cream comes into play. Pastry cream or crème patisserie (lovingly referred to as “crème pat” if you’re addicted to the Great British Baking Show like I am) is a thick, pudding-like cream that is usually the filling for eclairs.
For the cream puffs, I like to combine pastry cream with sweetened whipped cream. The combination of the two is heavenly. Pipe into a cream puff shell and you have … magic.
First, make the pastry cream. It needs some time to chill before assembly. You’ll cook this on the stove until thickened. There’s some tempering of eggs involved which sounds difficult, but is really just whisking hot milk into the eggs. Don’t let that scare you.
Once the cream is finished cooking, you’ll strain it, add butter (yay!), and place it in the fridge.
While that’s chilling, make the cream puffs.
It all starts with bringing water, butter, and salt to a boil. Vigorously stir in the flour, then return to the heat.
Once smooth, you’ll beat in eggs one at a time. Speaking of the Great British Baking Show, I recently learned a choux pastry trick. When the pastry is perfectly made, the batter will form a V-shape when a spatula is pulled from the bowl. No more wondering if you need one more egg. If it forms a clump rather than a V, your choux needs another egg.
When the choux is ready, place it in a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch tip. Pipe 12 rounds and bake.
The cream puffs stay in the oven for a bit once cooked, a little like making a cheesecake. This will help keep them from deflating.
Before filling, make a simple sweetened whipped cream and fold into the pastry cream. This looks like a lot of cream. Believe it or not, you’ll use almost every bit of it.
Cut the cream puff in half. They should be hollow or just have a few strands of dough running across.
Fill the bottom halves generously with the cream (see the little flecks of vanilla bean in there?) and replace the tops. Dust with powdered sugar. These are best served soon after filling, but can be refrigerated. If serving from the fridge, dust the tops with powdered sugar after taking them out.
Dreamy, creamy, fluffy, puffy cream puffs—I think I love you.
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