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This homemade cream puffs recipe is made with a classic French choux pastry dough and filled with sweet vanilla pastry cream.
I'm all about tackling desserts I see made on TV shows all the time - from a chocolate caramel tart to lemon meringue pie.
And my latest concoction is this homemade cream puffs recipe with chocolate ganache. I don't know about you, but I feel like every baking competition show like The Great British Baking Show has their contestants make pâte à choux at some point.
For those that don't know pâte à choux is a light pastry dough used in many pastries. It contains butter, water, flour and eggs. It doesn't use a raising agent, but instead relies on high moisture content to create steam to puff the pastry.
The result is a light and puffy pastry that is very airy and perfect to have a lovely pastry cream filled inside. I tried my hand at a few different recipes before settling on one that uses a combination of milk and water. The milk just adds a little more flavor.
And if you are worried about trying your hand at making your own cream puffs recipe, don't be. It is surprisingly easy and fun to make.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs - important for pastry cream and help support the structure and create the crisp outer shell of baked choux pastry.
- Milk - whole milk is best.
- Granulated sugar - sweetens the pastry cream.
- Cornstarch - helps thicken the pastry cream.
- Salt - enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted butter - used for both the cream and choux pastry dough.
- Vanilla extract - adds flavor to the pasty cream and ganache.
- All-purpose flour - has the right gluten necessary for this homemade cream puffs recipe.
- Semi-sweet chocolate - can also use milk or dark chocolate.
- Light corn syrup - creates a glossy finish for the glaze.
- Heavy cream - thins out the chocolate for the correct consistency.
Pastry Cream Instructions
- Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and beat until combined. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, add the milk, sugar and cornstarch 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.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, stirring 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 Dough Instructions
- 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. Press down the tip with wet fingers that they don't get too brown. Lightly brush each with some egg wash.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 20 minutes at 400°F, 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 filling into the cream puffs.
- Heat heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl. Once the cream is simmering, pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.
- Dip each cream puff in ganache if using.
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:
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 this cream puffs recipe 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 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.
- To prevent the peak, you need to stop piping and release the pressure from the bag before lifting up and quickly swirling the tip around the side. If you get the tip, just press down with a wet finger.
- If you don't want to pierce and fill the homemade cream puffs, just slice them in half.
- You can skip the ganache and dust with powdered sugar.
Other Dessert Recipes
- Chocolate Cream Puffs
- Homemade Oreos
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie
- Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
- Salted Chocolate Covered Bourbon Caramels
- Boston Cream Pie
If you’ve tried this 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.
Homemade Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp 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
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
- 2 tbsp Karo light corn syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Vanilla Pastry Cream
- Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and beat until combined. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, add the milk, sugar and cornstarch 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.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, stirring 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. Press down the tip with wet fingers that they don't get too brown. Lightly brush each with some egg wash.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 20 minutes at 400°F, 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 filling into the cream puffs. Dip each cream puff in ganache if using.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl. Once the cream is simmering, pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.
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.
- To prevent the peak, you need to stop piping and release the pressure from the bag before lifting up and quickly swirling the tip around the side. If you get the tip, just press down with a wet finger.
- If you don't want to pierce and fill the homemade cream puffs, just slice them in half.
- You can skip the ganache and dust with powdered sugar.
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