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This chocolate cream puffs recipe is filled with a rich and tasty chocolate pastry cream, which gets added crunch from a simple chocolate craquelin on top.
Desserts with pastry cream are hard to pass up, from Boston cream pie to homemade cream puffs.
And yes I know a traditional cream puff is made with vanilla pastry cream like the one I linked above. But life is all about taking risks right? Well it might not be risky making a chocolate pastry cream, but it sure is tasty.
For the longest time, I had seen shows on the Food Network where they added a cookie base on top of the choux pastry dough before baking called craquelin.
The point of it is to make the exterior a littler crunchier and it actually makes the cream puffs more rounded like a ball.
Instead of just adding some powdered sugar or ganache, I thought these chocolate cream puffs were perfect for trying out some craquelin. And luckily, I wasn't disappointed!
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Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour - has the right gluten necessary for this chocolate cream puffs recipe and is also used in the craquelin.
- Eggs - the base of the pastry cream and helps support the structure and create the crisp outer shell of baked choux pastry.
- Milk - creates a slightly softer cream puff that isn't as thick as if you use water, but adds flavor and helps it brown more.
- Cornstarch - the key to help thicken the pastry cream and let it set.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can change up the ingredients slightly. Some variations include:
- While I always use whole milk when baking, skim or 1% milk works fine. You can also use entirely water for just the dough if you want.
- Bittersweet chocolate is my go-to for the pastry cream, but milk or dark chocolate is a good substitute.
- Granulated sugar is what I use for the choux dough, but you can use light brown sugar as well.
Step-by-Step Photos
Beat all of the ingredients for the craquelin in a stand mixer and then roll out to 1/16 inch thickness. Place the dough and freeze until ready to use.
Now beat the egg yolks and egg in a bowl and set aside. Start making the pastry cream by heating the milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt until it begins to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat after 2 minutes.
Now add some of the hot milk mixture to the eggs and whisk to bring to temperature so they don't scramble. Then add the egg mixture back to the milk and bring to a light boil for 2 minutes.
Once it has thickened, remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, butter and vanilla extract. Pour into a bowl and press plastic wrap against top so film doesn't develop. Place in the fridge for 2 hours.
Heat together the butter, water, milk, sugar and salt in a medium sauce pan. Add the flour and stir until completely incorporated. Continue to stir and mash against the pan for 2 minutes. Add to a bowl of a stand mixer, letting cool for 2 minutes.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs in 3-4 additions, letting it mix for 30 seconds in between. It will curdle but come back together. Now remove the craquelin and cut circles the same size as the dough.
Use a ½ inch piping tip and pipe 1 ½ inch diameter and ½ tall rounds about 1 inch apart. Place the craquelin on top and press to adhere. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes then reduce to 350°F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. DO NOT open the oven or they won't puff.
Let cool to room temperature and then cut a little hole with the tip of a sharp knife in the bottom. Pipe the chocolate filling into the cream puffs.
Choux Pastry
Choux pastry or pâte à choux is a French pastry dough that uses four ingredients - butter, water, flour and eggs. It can be used for a variety of desserts besides this homemade cream puffs recipe, including:
Craquelin
While you can skip it, the extra step in using craquelin is worth it. Craquelin is a thin piece of dough that you put on top of a choux pastry just before you put it in the oven.
The dough will heat up and fold itself around the choux pastry, adding some additional crunch and color.
FAQs
I mentioned earlier that water is the main ingredient in a cream puffs recipe. However you can use milk or a combination of both which is what I use.
Water makes a lighter and crisper cream puff, where milk makes a softer puff that is not as crisp. It provides a little more flavor and helps the puff brown a little more.
There are two main reasons to have some deflation with this cream puffs recipe. You either opened the oven early which let out the heat or you under-baked which causes the dough to collapse after removing from the oven.
You'll have to rely on your oven light as color is the best indicator. They should be deeply golden. One it looks to be at that point, you can take one out and break it open to check for doneness. The center should be pretty hollow. If it is still spongy and moist, bake for another 2-3 minutes.
The shells of these chocolate cream puffs can actually be made a day or two ahead of filling them. Just let them cool, cover and store at room temperature. However keep in mind they tend to soften.
To re-crisp baked uncovered in the oven at 300°F for about 5 minutes. Once filled with the pastry cream they need to be refrigerated. They'll last about 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
When freezing cream puffs, make sure you fill them with the cream before adding to the freezer. Place on a baking sheet when freezing then transfer to a ziploc bag or airtight container.
To thaw the chocolate cream puffs, leave them in the fridge for 2 hours or at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- If you want to make larger cream puffs, pipe 2" wide. You will get about 18 and they will bake about 5 minutes longer at 350°F.
- Keep the craquelin dough in the freezer until it is needed as it can break up very easily otherwise.
- If you don't want to pierce and fill the homemade cream puffs, just slice them in half.
- You can skip the craquelin and dust with powdered sugar or dip in ganache.
Other Dessert Recipes
If you’ve tried this chocolate cream puffs recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Chocolate Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Chocolate Craquelin
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (100 grams)
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Choux Pastry
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs beaten
Instructions
Chocolate Craquelin
- Place all ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until combined.
- Place the dough on parchment paper and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll out to 1/16 inch in thickness. Place the dough and freeze for an hour or until ready to use.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- Add the egg yolks and egg to a medium bowl and beat until combined. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, add the milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt and cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken and bubble. Once it starts to bubble, simmer for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat.
- Add a small amount of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together to bring it up the temperature so the eggs don't scramble. Then add the egg mixture to milk mixture and whisk until combined. Place the saucepan back over medium heat and bring to a light boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Once the mixture has thickened, remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, butter and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth. Pour into a bowl and cover with clear wrap pressed against the top so you don't get a film on top. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to a day. Use when ready.
Choux Pastry
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat the butter, water, milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low.
- Add the flour all at once and stir until it is completely incorporated and clumps into a ball. Continue to mash and stir the dough against the side of the pan for 2 minutes, cooking the flour. Remove from heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Let it cool for 2 minutes.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions, making sure you mix for 30 seconds between each. The mixture will curdle but then come together. In the end, the dough will be sticky and firm enough to hold a stiff peak.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with some water, which helps create a humid environment.
- Transfer the choux pastry to a piping bag fitted with a ½ inch piping tip. Pipe 28 puffs, each 1 ½” in diameter and ½” tall rounds about 1 inch apart.
- Remove the craquelin from the freezer. Cut circles that are the same size as the dough. Place each piece carefully on top of the choux pastry and press lightly to adhere. (If you are baking one sheet at a time, only add the craquelin right before baking)
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 350°F and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. DO NOT open the oven or they won't puff. Remove and transfer to a cooling rack, letting them cool to room temperature.
- Fill the cream puffs by cutting a little hole with the tip of a sharp knife in the bottom. Pipe the chocolate filling into the cream puffs.
Notes
- If you want to make larger cream puffs, pipe 2" wide. You will get about 18 and they will bake about 5 minutes longer at 350°F.
- Keep the craquelin dough in the freezer until it is needed as it can break up very easily otherwise.
- If you don't want to pierce and fill the homemade cream puffs, just slice them in half.
- You can skip the craquelin and dust with powdered sugar or dip in ganache.
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