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    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    Cream Puffs (Choux Pastry)

    May 17, 2021 by Kankana Saxena

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Bite size Choux Pastry filled with whipped mascarpone cheese and slices of fresh strawberries! These cream puffs are light, airy, and it is very easy to make. If you haven’t made cream puffs before, time to change that! 5 ingredients are all you need.

    What are Cream Puffs (Choux Pastry)

    Choux pastry, or pâte à choux is a famous pastry from France that is prepared from a butter and flour dough. It doesn’t need any baking powder or baking soda or yeast.

    On baking the dough puffs beautifully creating a pocket inside for filling.

    This Cream Puff recipe is full proof, and you will find airy pockets in every single one of these puffs.

    Cream Puffs with mascarpone cheese and strawberries

    5 ingredients 

    5 ingredients are all it needs to prepare these easy choux pastry:

    • Butter
    • Milk
    • Water
    • Flour
    • Sugar

    All you need to do is mix to make a dough and then pipe to a baking sheet.

    But there is this one step you must be careful about when making the Choux Pastry!

    Cream Puffs with mascarpone cheese and strawberries

    How to prepare the Choux Pastry?

    In a pan melt the butter with water, milk and sugar. Then add the flour and keep mixing until it comes together into a dough.

    Let it cool down a little (this is the KEY PART) then add one egg at a time and whisk to make the shiny dough, that is not too runny or too thick.

    Once that is done, you pipe and bake.

    Cream Puffs with mascarpone cheese and strawberries

    Consistency of the dough is critical

    For the perfectly risen and puffed cream puffs, the consistency of the dough is critical. If the dough is too runny, then the choux buns will not puff, and you will get a pretty much flat buns.

    If the dough is too thick, then it will be dense inside, and you will not get any pockets to fill the choux buns.

    This recipe for cream puffs is perfect, and I have been baking these cream puffs for several years now.  

    How to store ?

    You can store the unfilled cream puffs in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature. You can also freeze these for 3 months.

    Freshly baked choux buns come out crispy on the outside but as it sits at room temperature, it will turn a little soft BUT not mushy. Keep that in mind.

    For re-heating, just cake at 300F preheated oven for 10 minutes.

    More Desserts To Try

    Choux Pastry with mascarpone cheese and strawberries

    Filling the cream puffs:

    You can think of multiple ways to fill this little delight!

    My favorite is mascarpone cheese with strawberries. But you can use variety different kind of creamy filling.

    Fill it with ice cream and pour some chocolate drizzle on top!

    You can also try savory filling with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

    Cream Puffs

    Kankana Saxena
    Bite size Choux Pastry filled with whipped mascarpone cheese and slices of fresh strawberries! These cream puffs are light, airy, and it is very easy to make. If you haven’t made cream puffs before, time to change that! 5 ingredients are all you need.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Servings 0

    Ingredients
     

    For the puffs

    • 8 tbs unsalted butter
    • ½ cup water
    • ½ cup milk
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • a pinch of salt
    • 4 large eggs
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour

    For the filling

    • 1 cup mascarpone cheese
    • ½ cup heavy cream
    • 2 tablespoon sugar

    Instructions
     

    • In a deep heavy bottom pan at medium heat, melt the butter with milk and water.
    • After the butter is melted, add sugar, salt.
    • Next add all the flour at once and using a wooden spoon, keep beating until the mixture forms a dough. This should take about 3 minutes.
    • Stop the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Allow the mixture to cool down a little before whisking eggs to it.
    • You could either use a hand whisk or an electric whisk to mix the eggs to the dough. Add one egg at a time and keep whisking. Once all the eggs are added, keep whisking until the mixture turns into a smooth shinny thick batter consistency.
    • Preheat the oven to 400 F.
    • Pipe the batter into a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat.
    • Wet the tip of your finger and tap the top of the dough slightly just to make sure it's smooth on top.
    • Bake it at 400 F for 15mins.
    • Reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 25 minutes or until they are all puffed up and get golden brown. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR IN BETWEEN.
    • Once done, let the choux buns cool off completely on a wire rack.
    • For the filling, whip together mascarpone cheese with heavy cream and sugar till it's firm. Slice the strawberries or chop and mix with the filling.
    • For final plating: Cut the puffs in half, spread the strawberries and cheese mix on the bottom half, place the top half of the puff shells and dust some icing sugar on top.

    Notes

    Consistency of the dough is critical

    For the perfectly risen and puffed cream puffs, the consistency of the dough is critical. If the dough is too runny, then the choux buns will not puff, and you will get a pretty much flat buns.
    If the dough is too thick, then it will be dense inside, and you will not get any pockets to fill the choux buns.
    This recipe for cream puffs is perfect, and I have been baking these cream puffs for several years now.  

     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Servings
    Keyword baked, choux pastry, cream puffs, desserts, Puff pastry
    Choux Pastry with mascarpone cheese and strawberries

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim - Liv Life

      October 10, 2011 at 9:47 pm

      Your puffs look just perfect, and your photos are positively stunning! I'm not much of a sweet person either, however I'd never turn one of these beauties down. Nicely done!

    2. nipponnin

      October 08, 2011 at 10:44 am

      This looks fantastic! This could be our family's favorite sweet. Congratulations on top 9.

    3. Cheryl and Adam @ pictureperfectmeals.com

      October 05, 2011 at 7:12 am

      So beautiful and delicious! Congrats on the Foodbuzz Top 9, most well deserved!

    4. Mary

      October 05, 2011 at 5:48 am

      These look simply amazing! I've never even tried making them. I'm in awe.

    5. tigerfish

      October 04, 2011 at 9:47 pm

      Another creation that looks too pretty to be eaten. I would not bear eating them!

    6. Reem | Simply Reem

      October 04, 2011 at 9:29 pm

      Kankana I am too your friend now send me some of these... You cannot eat them all without me 😉
      Beautiful my dear, they a really worthy of a very long happy dance...
      Delicious!!!!

    7. rebecca

      October 04, 2011 at 6:44 pm

      wow kankana they look amazing perfect in fact and love Ananda's blog she is a talent for sure hugs thanks for your kind comment s hope to meet u one day

    8. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen

      October 04, 2011 at 6:34 pm

      The puffs came out just beautifully, so light and airy.

    9. Manju

      October 04, 2011 at 5:46 pm

      I think I have died and gone to heaven, a heaven of cream puffs! These look soo soo gorgeous!

    10. Soma

      October 04, 2011 at 5:18 pm

      i am speechless!! These are so sublime and beautiful. and I would do dance all day along even if i could get the photographs look as pretty as yours, forget the puffs:) very very pretty. more than words can say.

    11. aipi

      October 04, 2011 at 5:01 pm

      WOW ~ Kankana those pastries are just mind blowing! Two thumbs UP!!
      USMasala

    « Older Comments

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