Homemade Cream Puffs

cream puff sliced in half showing pastry cream

These cream puffs are made with a classic French choux pastry dough and filled with sweet vanilla pastry cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 158kcal

Author Ryan Beck

Ingredients

Vanilla Pastry Cream

4 egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
⅔ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Choux Pastry

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup water
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs beaten

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
2 tablespoon Karo light corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon 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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