Make bakery-quality cream puffs from the comfort of your own kitchen.
There’s nothing quite like a perfectly baked cream puff—light, crisp, filled with velvety cream and topped with rich chocolate. While they may look fancy, making them at home is easier than you think! This recipe uses my favorite choux pastry method for foolproof puffs and is filled with my all-time favorite filling, crème légère—a luscious blend of pastry cream and whipped cream. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned baker, this step-by-step guide will help you create bakery-quality cream puffs that will impress any crowd!
A few notes:
- Make the pastry cream the night before: Pastry cream needs at least four hours to set, so I highly recommend making it the night before. This way, it’s fully chilled and ready to go, making your cream puff baking day much smoother and more enjoyable.
- Try different fillings: I personally love to use crème légère in this recipe, but feel free to mix things up. Other fillings I’d suggest trying are Chocolate Pastry Cream and Hazelnut Mousseline.
- Get an instant read thermometer: An instant read thermometer is an important tool for any kitchen. For this recipe, you can guarantee the choux pastry reaches the correct temperatures, ensuring the perfect choux pastry every time. I’ve made other choux recipes before (with varied degrees of success) and this method has yet to fail me.
- Don’t over crowd the pan: Choux pastry releases a lot of steam as it bakes. Err on the side of more space in between each choux ball and fewer per tray. This will ensure that they’re able to get nice and golden brown in the oven as they bake. An overcrowded pan will still yield good choux balls, however, the choux pastry will likely not expand to its full potential and they tend to come out lighter in color.
- Piping Tips: Round tips will do a satisfactory job for all the piping required for this recipe. However, if you think you might make these often or be tempted to go on an eclair baking spree, getting a filling tip might be worth your while.
Love choux pastry? Go make Chouquettes!
Cream Puffs
These homemade cream puffs are light, airy, and yet irressitably decadent. Made with simple ingredients, they’re surprisingly easy to master and taste just like they came from a bakery. They're the perfect shareable dessert that you might not want to share!
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Instant read thermometer
- Piping Bags and tips
Ingredients
Creme Légère (Lightened Pastry Cream)
- 2 Cups Whole milk (480 mL)
- 6 Tbsp Sugar (75 g)
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 Tbsp Cornstarch (30 g)
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla (15 mL)
- 4 Egg yolks
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted butter softened (43 g)
- ¾ Cup Heavy Cream (175 mL)
Choux Pastry
- 1 Cup Milk (235 g)
- 6 Tbsp Unsalted butter cubed (84 g)
- 2 tsp Sugar (8 g)
- ½ tsp Salt (2 g)
- 128 g Flour sifted (1 Cup)
- 4 Eggs
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Chocolate Topping
- 1 Cup Chocolate chips melted
- Squirt of neutral oil
Instructions
Make the Pastry Cream (Preferably the Night Before)
- To a large pot, add the milk and heat until it reaches a simmer (do not boil).2 Cups Whole milk
- While the milk heats, to a large bowl add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla, whisking until well combined. Place on a kitchen towel and set aside.6 Tbsp Sugar, Pinch of Salt, 3 Tbsp Cornstarch, 4 Egg yolks, 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- Once the milk is ready, pour a thin stream into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously as you pour so as to not curdle the eggs.
- Once the eggs have been tempered, return the mixture back to the sauce pan.
- Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to thicken, about 1-2 minutes.
- Let it come to a boil. This will look like big bubbles breaking the surface of the thickened custard. Let boil for about 1 minute and then remove from the heat.
- Whisk in the butter and then pour the custard through a sieve and into a clean bowl.3 Tbsp Unsalted butter
- Cover with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface of the hot custard so that a skin doesn't form, and then place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Make the Choux Pastry
- In a medium sauce pan, add the milk, butter, sugar and salt. Cook on high until the butter has melted and the liquid comes to a rolling boil.1 Cup Milk, 6 Tbsp Unsalted butter, 2 tsp Sugar, ½ tsp Salt
- Remove from heat and add the flour. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until no lumps of flour remain and a dough has formed.128 g Flour sifted
- Return the pan to medium-high heat and cook until the dough reaches 175℉, stirring frequently. You should also see a thin film starting to form over the inside of the pan.
- Transfer the dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the dough comes down to 145℉.
- Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. After the last egg is fully incorporated, the dough should be at the consistency where a "V" of dough holds it’s shape off the end of the beater.4 Eggs
- Transfer the choux dough to a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I use a Wilton 12 round tip).
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper, piping a small amount of choux pastry under each corner to keep the paper in place as the choux balls bake (they're very light and the parchment can move around in the oven).
- To pipe the choux balls, hold the pastry bag at a 90° angle, and then pipe a 1-inch wide dough ball onto the tray. Leave plenty of room in between each of your choux balls and stick to 12-15 per tray. They let off steam as they bake and will brown better if you don't overcrowd the pan.
- Smooth the surface of each choux ball by dipping your finger in water and patting down any peaks and ridges. Dust generously with powdered sugar.Powdered sugar for dusting
- Bake for 25 minutes until they are puffed and golden brown.
- While they are still hot, poke a small hole into the bottom of each choux ball with a pairing knife. Let them rest on their sides so the steam is able to escape.
- Return the tray to the warm but *off* oven, propping the door open with a spoon, so the choux balls can finish drying out.
Make the Crème Légère
- Remove the chilled pastry cream from the fridge, breaking it up with a whisk until it is smooth and creamy again.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks.¾ Cup Heavy Cream
- Gently fold about a third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream until combined.
- Fold in the remaining whipped cream, making sure not to deflate the mixture.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a filling tip or round tip.
Build the Cream Puffs
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, using 30s increments. Mix in a squirt of neutral oil and set aside.1 Cup Chocolate chips, Squirt of neutral oil
- Arrange the choux balls on a wire rack. Using the hole already poked into the bottom of each choux ball, fill each puff with crème légère, stopping once it begins to ooze out.
- Once all the cream puffs are filled, dip the top of each puff in the melted chocolate until all have a nice shiny coating.
- Let set in the fridge for 30 minutes before enjoying.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (if they last that long).
Notes
- Make the pastry cream the night before: Pastry cream needs at least four hours to set, so I highly recommend making it the night before. This way, it’s fully chilled and ready to go, making your cream puff baking day much smoother and more enjoyable.
- Try different fillings: I personally love to use crème légère in this recipe, but feel free to mix things up. Other fillings I’d suggest trying are Chocolate Pastry Cream and Hazelnut Mousseline.
- Get an instant read thermometer: An instant read thermometer is an important tool for any kitchen. For this recipe, you can guarantee the choux pastry reaches the correct temperatures, ensuring the perfect choux pastry every time. I’ve made other choux recipes before (with varied degrees of success) and this method has yet to fail me.
- Don’t over crowd the pan: Choux pastry releases a lot of steam as it bakes. Err on the side of more space in between each choux ball and fewer per tray. This will ensure that they’re able to get nice and golden brown in the oven as they bake. An overcrowded pan will still yield good choux balls, however, the choux pastry will likely not expand to its full potential and they tend to come out lighter in color.
- Piping Tips: Round tips will do a satisfactory job for all the piping required for this recipe. However, if you think you might make these often or be tempted to go on an eclair baking spree, getting a filling tip might be worth your while.
