Introduction
Welcome to my video on how to make homemade cream puffs! Cream puffs are a classic French pastry that are light, airy, and filled with a creamy custard. They are surprisingly easy to make and can be filled with a variety of different fillings. In this video, I will show you how to make the perfect cream puff dough and how to fill them with a delicious vanilla custard. So let’s get started!
Homemade Cream Puffs (VIDEO) – Jessica Gavin
Cream puffs are a classic French pastry that are surprisingly easy to make at home. Follow along with this step-by-step video tutorial from Jessica Gavin, a professional chef and culinary scientist, to learn how to make these delicious treats.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- In a medium saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and add the flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute to cool the dough slightly. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. The dough should be thick and glossy.
- Using a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, drop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, making sure to leave enough space between each puff. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip with the cream and pipe into the cooled cream puffs.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Video Tutorial
Cream puffs are a traditional French dessert made to impress! Crispy hole shells are made out of choux pastry and baked till golden brown. Then each is crammed with frivolously sweetened whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar.
Desk of Contents
- Make the Pâte à Choux
- Gradual temperature lower methodology
- Checking for doneness
- Make the filling
- Are you able to make them prematurely?
- Are you able to freeze them with cream inside?
- Different tasty filling and toppings
- Cream Puffs Recipe
Cream puffs are a chic dessert made utilizing a traditional french pastry approach. Mastering how you can make pâte à choux, or choux pastry is admittedly easy. It begins with cooking the flour on the range with butter and water then whipping in eggs to create a thick, pipeable dough.
I exploit a particular baking methodology to make sure the pastry rises up excessive and fully dries out. When heated, the mounds of dough bake into tremendous mild, hole shells, excellent for filling. Every chunk delivers a crunchy crust loaded with a silky whipped cream. The excellent news is these candy treats may be made prematurely!
Make the Pâte à Choux
The choux pastry (also called eclair paste) is a straightforward combination of water, salt, sugar, butter and flour that’s cooked on the stovetop. This helps to interrupt down the starches in wheat to make it simpler to soak up water.
Ensure that to chill them down earlier than including the eggs in order that they don’t prepare dinner and scramble! Step by step incorporating eggs helps the pastry rise when baked. It’s vital so as to add simply sufficient eggs in order that the dough is sort of a thick cake batter that holds its form when piped.
Gradual temperature lower methodology
The trick to creating tremendous spherical and tall cream puff shells is to make use of a particular baking methodology that progressively reduces the temperature each 10 minutes. The pastries go into the oven at very excessive temperatures above 400 levels. This makes the pastry prepare dinner and steam, giving it quick raise whereas serving to the proteins harden to create the outer construction.
Slowly reducing the warmth right down to 200 levels ensures that the pastry is golden brown, hole and crisp with out it burning. Though it’s tempting, don’t open the oven door! You need to maintain the warmth in in order that it dries out, in any other case it can take longer.
Checking for doneness
The surface ought to be golden in colour and crisp in texture. Break open one of many shells and verify to see that within the pastry is hole and never doughy. It ought to be dry, some steam will launch if it nonetheless heat, but it surely shouldn’t really feel soggy or undercooked.
If the cream puffs should not prepared, pop them again into the oven at 200ºF (93ºC) till they end drying out.
Make the filling
A typical filling for cream puffs is whipped cream or chantilly cream. It’s sweetened with powdered sugar and pure vanilla extract then whipped till easy, stiff peaks type. Ensure that to make use of heavy cream and never whipping cream, it has a better quantity of fats which makes it extra steady when piped.
I realized in culinary faculty that when the cream is piped via the tip, the stress whips it extra, so don’t ever beat the cream to the purpose the place it seems to be curdled.
Are you able to make them prematurely?
Sure! You can also make them as much as 1 day prematurely for the freshest and crisp tasting pastry. Every part may also be made forward of time. The shells may be baked and saved at room temperature for as much as 5 days in an hermetic container or frozen.
I discover that the shells style stale when not eaten the identical day. A fast resolution to re-crisping the shell is to bake them at 300 levels for about 5 to 10 minutes, then allow them to cool earlier than filling and serve the identical day.
Are you able to freeze them with cream inside?
Cream puffs may be stuffed and frozen, however they won’t be crisp in texture or style as contemporary. It’s greatest to fill them from the underside with the whipped cream in order that the dairy just isn’t uncovered. Defrost them at room temperature till they really feel delicate when squeezed.
Different tasty filling and toppings
- Chocolate sauce drizzled on high proper earlier than serving.
- Pastry cream also called custard.
- Mix equal components pastry cream and whipped cream for a lightweight custard filling.
- Fill the shells with ice cream for a frozen deal with.
- Combine the whipped cream with some fruit jam
- Prime with contemporary fruit like strawberries or peaches.
Methods to maintain crisp and never soggy
I discover that stuffed cream puffs will keep crisp when saved within the fridge uncovered, for about 3 days. The fridge is cool however dry, so the shells don’t get soggy. When stored in a container, moisture from the humidity will get trapped and the powdered sugar dissolves, and the shells get damp.
Pin this recipe to save lots of for later
Pin This
Choux Pastry
-
Set the oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Preheat to 425°F (218ºC). Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and set them apart.
-
In a big heavy-bottomed saucepan, add 1 cup of water, sugar, salt, and butter. Convey to a boil over medium-high warmth and stir the combination till the butter is totally melted, about 2 minutes.Flip off the warmth and instantly add the flour. Vigorously stir with a big spoon (non-metal) till the flour is integrated. Enhance the warmth to medium, continuously stir till it clumps collectively, about 4 to five minutes. The dough ought to look comparatively dry and may simply start to depart a movie on the saucepan.
-
Switch the dough to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Slowly stir on low pace (setting 2) to chill to 130°F (54ºC) or simply beneath, about 2 to three minutes. This prevents the eggs from curdling when added.
-
Add eggs one by one, mixing on medium-low pace (setting 4) till every egg is totally integrated, about 30 to 45 seconds per egg. As soon as 3 eggs are added, verify to see if the dough pulls away from the bowl’s sides in thick threads, it is not going to clear the bowl. It ought to be shiny however agency and never runny in order that it’s simple to regulate when piped. If it’s nonetheless too thick, add the fourth egg and blend for 45 seconds.
-
Add a big plain tip to a piping bag (Ateco 806). Choice to frivolously grease the within of the pastry bag with cooking spray. This helps maintain the sticky dough from clinging to the bag.Add the dough into the pastry bag. Pipe onto the sheet pan, making a 2-inch round ball. Pipe no less than 2 inches other than one another. They are going to increase to about 3 inches after baking.
-
Add ¼ cup of water to a small bowl. Dip your finger within the water and flatten any tails left on the highest when piping to create a smoother floor.
-
In a small bowl, whisk collectively one egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the tops and sides of every dough ball with the egg wash.
-
Place the sheet trays within the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Bake for 10 minutes at every temperature setting: 425°F (218ºC), 375°F (191ºC), 325°F (163ºC), 275°F (135ºC), 225°F (107ºC), 200°F (93ºC). Don’t open the oven door! It’s going to take about 60 to 70 minutes of complete baking time.
-
To verify for doneness, break open one of many pastries. It ought to be as dry as potential on the within and really feel mild in weight. If wanted, proceed to bake the pâte à choux at 200°F (93ºC). Switch shells to a cooling rack. Cool fully and reserve till able to fill.
Whipped Cream
-
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the bowl. Whip the combination on medium-low pace (setting 4) till the cream is frothy with bubbles on the floor, about 1 minute.Enhance the pace to medium-high (setting 8), whip till easy, stiff peaks type, about 2 minutes. If wanted, proceed to whip in 5-second intervals. Don’t over whip, or the cream will develop into curdled.
Piping
-
Working in batches, add the whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with a big star tip (Ateco 824).
-
Use a serrated knife to chop the shells in half to create a high and backside.
-
Evenly pipe whipped cream into the pastry bottoms. Gently place the lids on high of the cream.
-
Sprinkle powdered sugar on high of every cream puff. Serve instantly, or refrigerate, uncovered, if not consuming inside one hour.
- Measuring the flour: Use the spoon and stage methodology. Scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then stage the floor with the again of a knife. This provides a number of tablespoons much less flour than the dip and sweep methodology, so the pastry just isn’t too dense.
- Smaller cream puffs: Pipe 1 ½ inch circles for about 21 smaller pastries.
- Egg wash: Entire milk may be substituted for water for a extra browned floor, however shells will probably be barely much less crisp.
- Storing unfilled shells: Retailer baked shells at room temperature in an hermetic container for five days or frozen for 1 month.
- Make them crispy once more: Saved shells may be reheated at 300ºF (149ºC) on a sheet pan till barely hardened on the surface, 5 to 10 minutes. Switch to a wire rack and let cool earlier than filling.
- Storing cream puffs: For the most effective style, serve the identical day. They are often refrigerated uncovered for as much as 3 days.
Need to save this recipe?
Create an account simply save your favourite content material, so that you always remember a recipe once more.
Register now
Vitamin Details
Cream Puffs
Quantity Per Serving
Energy 116
Energy from Fats 63
% Every day Worth*
Fats 7g11%
Saturated Fats 4g20%
Ldl cholesterol 66mg22%
Sodium 94mg4%
Potassium 28mg1%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 251IU5%
Calcium 11mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* % Every day Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie weight loss program.
Tried this recipe?
Tag @jessica_gavin on Instagram. I would like to see the way it seems!