Cream Puffs or Choux Pastry can be intimitating to some when it comes to baking, but yet they are really simple. It could take a couple of times baking them to get the hang of it, but on the positive side even the bad puffs are good! My high school students were amazed when I made these melt in your mouth puffs of cream. The topic of the day is leavening agents and this particular one is steam. The amount of steam could be a problem , but I will cover that later in some hints to follow when making the perfect Choux Pastry.
What you fill these cream puffs with is really whatever you fancy. It could be flavored whipped cream. For my next demo I am definitely using chocolate flavored whipped cream, but I ran out of time. After mixing in cocoa it should be refrigerated for at least an hour to dissolve the cocoa. I have to plan ahead for that flavor! Last year I made these Cream Puffs filled with pudding and they were a hit. Savory Puffs filled with delicious Shrimp Salad would be a show stopper. Here you go with the step by step procedure that will get you some positive results and many compliments.
There is a more complicated recipe for Choux Pastry, but this is the one that I was taught in college and have had really good results with it. As I said before it may take a little tweaking depending on the amount of moisture in your dough and your particular oven cooking temperature.
All you need or these puffs are eggs, water, butter, all-purpose flour, and salt.
- 4 eggs are needed at room temperature
- Bring 1 cup of water and 1 stick of butter to a boil
- Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Put back on heat and stir until it come together in middle of the pan
Here are the step by step photos to get yours in the oven:
- Place the dough onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper using a teaspoon, placing dough into a pastry bag, or using a tablespoon for larger puffs.
- Place them into a hot oven 425 degrees
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. I found that even with the smaller puffs that the cooking time was close to 30 minutes.
- Take a puff out of the oven and slice the top off to see if it is fairly dry on the inside.
- The cream puff should be light as a feather as you remove it from the oven.
- Cut the top from the cream puff.
- If there is a small of amount of uncooked dough don’t fret, just pinch it out with your fingers and discard it.
- Puffs can be frozen and filled later or you can fill them immediately.
- Don’t fill until ready to serve. Fillings will make the cream puffs soggy.
- Cream Puffs or Choux Pastry yield 10 large, 20 small or 40 mini
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- what ever filling you choose
Directions
- Heat oven to 400 – 425 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat water and margarine to boiling.
- Take off heat add flour and salt all at once.
- Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of pan in a smooth compact ball.
- Let mixture cool slightly.
- Stirring will help to cool the mixture quicker.
- Be careful not to add your eggs too soon or you will have scrambled eggs. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Spoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Make 6 very large cream puffs or use a tablespoon and make 20 snack size. ( In the picture are snack size).
- You can pipe these from a pastry tube using a large fluted tip.Bake small cream puffs for about 30 minutes.
- Bake large ones for about 40 minutes.
- Take one of the puffs out and slice the top to make sure that it is done. If not put back in the oven for a few minutes.
- Slice the top third of the puff.
- If the dough is still sticky discard the dough and fill with the filling of your choice. Do not till until right before serving.
- Fill the bottom third with the filling of your choice.
- Place the top on the filling.
Enjoy!
The Teacher Cooks
The Teacher Cooks 
Cream puffs are always such a crowd pleaser! I only began making them myself a few years ago. Yours look lovely!
the cream puffs were delicious, they came out better then i thought they would. I learned that pouring powered sugar gives it a sweet flavor that soaks in your mouth
the cream puffs are easy to make and a good snack
I learned to not add your eggs to soon, or they will be scambled !
I always thought cream puffs were much harder to make, but I see now that they’re quite simple. Very tasty too, I thought the cream would over do the bread but it tasted just right! If you whip the batter too much, it could mess them up.
These were Awesome !! , i learned that after you cook it , there will cometimes be a little extra egg left in them after you cook em ! and the dont taste very good without the cream :p
Also They look easy to make , cant wait to try them at home !
Cream puffs look nice. I learned they need to be feathery and flakey!
Amazing; the whipped cream tasted ALOT better then the canned.
i learned that you have to let the dough cool before putting the eggs in the mix or else you will end up with scrambled eggs.
After reading the recipe, I admire how it advises to not add the eggs too quickly because they will scramble, thats is a mistake I would make.
The cream puffs look good but I didn’t know they had sugar nor did Iknow they were a pastry!
when making cream puffs with chocolate you must put in the refrigerator to dissolve the cocoa.
I learned to bake the small ones for 30 minutes and the larger ones for 40 minutes.
i learned that inorder to keep the whip cream from melting it to wait for it to cool off which i never thought about that before
🙂 these cream puffs were really good!! tasted way better than the frozen ones! i learned that you dont need to mix the dough to much it it will turn out like scrambled eggs!!
I learned these were simple and easy to make. The whipped cream you make tastes much better than the store bought kind!
The cream puffs look good but I didn’t know they had sugar nor did I know they were a pastry!
I learned that cream puffs can be filled with almost anything, from whipped cream to tuna salad. These make a great party food.
The cream puffs look so delicate, i learned that you are able to freeze these and fill them later. They are just enough to satisfy someones sweet craving!
i didnt know that if you add the egg to early, you’ll have them cooked into scrambled eggs
These puffs are light, fluffy and pretty simple to make, but you don’t want to fill them until you are ready to serve them or they will get soggy.
these cream puffs looked like they were easy to make and i didnt know that the eggs would cook different if you did them to early.
I learned how to make quick and easy cream puffs they were delicious
I learned that you should let them cool before you put the whip cream in.
the cream puffs were delicous ! i learned that you have to leave them in the refridgerator so the cocoa dissolves
I didn’t know that you could fill cream puffs with whatever filling you wanted, it never occurred to me! I didn’t know to beat the eggs individually after every time you add one, so that was good to know too!
I learned that you have to take the inside out, so you have room for the whip cream.
I learned that if you dont’t let the dough cool before you put the eggs in then you will have scrambeled eggs and ruin the recipe.
I didn’t know that you could freeze cream puffs or that you shouldn’ fill them with cream until you are ready to serve them.
I’m not a big fan of whipped cream, but this cream puff wasn’t that bad. I probably wouldn’t put as much whipped cream in it.
These look very yummy, and I learned that your post got a lot of hits. I also learned how to make theses. 🙂
I want to eat my computer screen right now. Yummo. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Ava
xox
These look beautiful. Perfect Easter treat!
i know cream puff is a derogatory term, and that’s just wrong–there’s nothing NOT to love about these little suckers! well done. 🙂
Choux pastry can be used for so many things, Wanda. Yours look perfect. I like mine with ice cream and butterscotch sauce. Yum.
I love sweets, and these were amazing. I learned that cream puffs aren’t hard to make after all .
I love this recipe and have used it to make many things! Mini Chocolate Eclairs are my favorite. They are very easy to make and look & taste wonderful! Great to take to church dinners or to use at a baby shower/wedding shower, etc. I have also stuffed the small pastries with chicken salad or tuna salad and as appetizers.
These you’ve made look beautiful! Yum!
i learned that you have to bake in hot over for 30 minutes and they were delicious.
The cream puffs were amazing and also very adorable they look so light and elegant.
i learned that you can only add one egg at a time and you cant do it to fast or they will be scrambled
Actually when you made this in class it was the first I ever seen it , and it was alright.
i learned , you can fill these with about anything.
My favorite part aws watching the whipped cream being made for the cream puffs. It was also the best part of the cream puff.
I learned that you have to cook them for about half an hour
i would have never thought ot fill cream puffs with anything other than whipped cream! i don’t really like cream puffs but they do look delicious!
i learned how to make whipped cream!
i liked these and thought putting chicken salad inside would be a great idea
Though i wasn’t there when the cream puffs were made they look like they taste pretty good, and look pretty easy to make. From reading the recipe i learned that you have to let the dough cool before putting the eggs in the or you will end up with scrambled eggs.
These look very good. I also learned you should deffinantley cool them before you put the cream in them.
i didnt know that if you fill the cream puffs too early, they would get soggy and not be as good
I learned from reading that you should cool them before you put the cream in for a better outcome
I learned that you lightly crisp the outside of the doughballs,and take out the raw insides to fill with cream.
CAN YOU FREEZE THEM FILLED WITH WHIPPED CREAM?
Sharon, you can freeze the pastry shell, but not with the cream. Thanks for visiting!
I learned that you should cool them before you put the cream in for a better results.
I learned that making cream puffs isn’t as hard as it seems and there are only a few things that you need! All you need are puffs are eggs, water, butter, all-purpose flour, and salt.