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Cream Puffs

Maureen Abood

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May 10, 2012, Updated Jan 04, 2023

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Cream puffs are twice-cooked pastries made with choux paste and filled with cream.

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As you can imagine, exam time in culinary school can be stressful. We had three of them, and the first was in some ways the most challenging. That’s because we just didn’t know what to expect, having never taken a culinary practical exam and having watched far too many episodes of Iron Chef.

The initial exam assessed, among other things, our ability to make profiteroles, tiny cream puffs made of choux paste and filled with pastry cream. I really wanted to knock this one out of the ballpark because these are my mom’s favorite, and I wanted to make them perfectly for her.

Our instruction was to maintain complete silence in the kitchen, which wasn’t easy when navigating shared ovens for our profiteroles and anything else that needed the heat. We were all trying to be nice about sharing, about whispering “behind” whenever we slid behind someone so they wouldn’t turn around and find a collision waiting to happen. After all, our kitchen etiquette was also being observed.

Choux paste was the first pastry we had learned, and we learned it in such a way that it would be forever emblazoned in our minds: the number to remember is four. So you have 4 eggs, 4 oz. butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, 400 degree oven. Also 1 cup water, 1 cup flour. I’m still amazed at what divine savory (add grueyere and you have gougeres, delicious with a glass of wine) or sweet pastry (cream puffs, eclairs, profiteroles) comes of these few ingredients, properly incorporated with one another.

The puff effect must be had during the baking process, or whatever you are making with choux has failed. And there is only one sure way to get the puff: bake the dough at 400 degrees completely undisturbed for 15 minutes before turning down the heat for continued baking. Which means: do NOT open the oven.

But when you’re rushing against the clock and there are only two ovens for four people and if you don’t get your profiteroles in right this very second you’ll be S-O-L ….that oven’s going open. I’m not saying it was me, I’m just saying I can see what would lead someone to open the oven on someone else even though they know it’s not right. Desperation can also make one delusional about their ability to be stealth. When one of the ovens, then, was opened during the critical puff stage, all hell broke loose. The monk-like silence was shattered amid a barrage of what-the-hells and if-mine-don’t-puff-you-die outrage.

I just remember at that moment thinking how much money I could make launching a culinary school reality television show…the narrating student telling how things were going so smoothly, then that b—- opened my oven and wrecked my puffs, the vow for revenge during the next exam. I’d watch it; wouldn’t you?

How did my puffs turn out that day? Not bad, not bad at all. My pastry cream had great consistency and vanilla flavor. My profiteroles were slightly too big and my chocolate sauce slightly too thin.

Sometimes I think I went to culinary school for the sole purpose of making these cream puffs for my mother. They were the first thing I made for her when I came home from school, showing off my ability to make the whole thing without a recipe. After that I made them for her whenever possible because she always said she’d love a cream puff when I asked what she’d like me to make for a treat. When I did, she ate them as though they were the best thing she has ever tasted, and I knew she’d say so even if the oven door had been opened and they deflated before their time.

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Cream Puffs Recipe

By Maureen Abood

These cream puffs are filled with vanilla pastry cream that is lightened with whipped cream. You can fill the puffs with just whipped cream or with ice cream. The choux paste dough is very soft and can be piped or spooned. I love to include seasonal fruit like strawberries or raspberries, either on the side or tucked right into the puff. Make the pastry cream in advance (at least two hours and up to three days) so that it has time to chill.

Prep: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings: 12 cream puffs

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Equipment

• 1 Silpat

Ingredients 

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Pastry Cream

• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 5 large egg yolks
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons corn starch
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Shells

• ▢ 1 cup whole milk, (or water)
• ▢ 4 oz. unsalted butter, cut in 1-inch pieces
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
• ▢ 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream

Strawberries

• ▢ 1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
• ▢ 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon rose water

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Instructions 

Pastry cream

• In a medium heavy saucepan, heat the milk with over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the 5 egg yolks until they are lightly beaten. Add the granulated sugar and salt and whisk until the mixture is smooth and light yellow in color. Add the flour and corn starch and whisk until thick and creamy.
• Whisk 1 cup of the warm milk into the egg mixture. Slowly add the remaining warm milk and whisk until fully combined. Pour the mixture through a sieve, back into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, 5-10 minutes. Take care not to burn the bottom of the pan while the pudding is cooking by whisking continually.
• When the pastry cream is thick, remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the pastry cream into a small bowl and place plastic wrap directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool, at least 1 hour.

Shells

• Arrange an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper or a Silpat.
• In a clean small, heavy saucepan, melt the butter and salt with the milk (or water) over low heat, then bring toa boil for a few seconds.
• Take the pan off the heat and add the cup of flour all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon, until no flour is visible.
• Return the pan to medium heat and continue beat until the mixture is warm and shiny, about a minute. Remove from the heat again (and for good). To add the eggs, do so a small amount at a time (about ¼ cup), beating thoroughly with the wooden spoon after each addition. The mixture will separate and become wet and slippery with each addition of egg, but continue beating through this after each addition until the mixture incorporates and emulsifies into a smooth, moist dough. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the egg at the end, which will be used as egg wash for the cream puffs before they are baked.
• Pipe or spoon the batter in 12 evenly-sized rounds (about 2 ½ inches each) onto the prepared pan, about 2 inches apart. If spooning, they are not going to be perfect in shape, which is to be expected. If piping and the top of the piped rounds are pointed, simply dip a finger in water and pat down the top of each round. Using a small pastry brush, coat the top of each ball of dough with egg wash.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time, to allow for the dough to puff up properly. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 35 minutes, or until the puffs are golden and the crevices are no longer pale yellow. Remove from the oven and make a small cut in each puff with the point of a sharp knife to release steam. Turn the oven off and return the pan to the oven to allow the puffs to dry out for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the puffs completely.
• Meanwhile, make the strawberries. In a medium bowl, add the berries, all but a tablespoon of the confectioners' sugar, and rose water. Stir to combine, then aside until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, reconstitute the chilled pastry cream by whisking it until smooth. Whip the heavy cream with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream until fully combined.
• Use a serrated knife to slice the top off of each puff. Remove any excess eggy dough from inside the puffs. Fill each puff with a large spoonful of pastry cream. Place the top on the puff, place the puff on a plate, and sift powdered sugar over the puff and the plate. Spoon the strawberries alongside the cream puff, and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 182mg | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 269mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 741IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Maureen Abood

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cream puffs

Calories: 326

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