Classic cream puffs made with choux pastry dough, filled with sweetened whipped cream, and dusted with powdered sugar. You won't believe how easy this elegant dessert is.
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Servings 20
Ingredients
For the pastry
1cup(240ml)water
½cup(113g)unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½teaspoonsalt
1cup(130g)unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
4large eggs, room temperature & lightly beaten
For the filling
2cups(240ml)heavy cream
2teaspoonsvanilla paste
3tablespoonconfectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
Instructions
Make the pastry
Measure out all the ingredients and have them set out on your work surface. Use weight measurements for best results.
Combine the water, butter, and salt in a medium stainless steel pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts completely and the mixture comes to a full boil.
Add all of the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until no traces of dry flour are visible. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes, until the paste pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball. You will notice a skin has formed on the bottom of the pot.
Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to low and mix until the paste feels slightly warm to the touch. If it's too hot it will cook the eggs and ruin the pastries.
Add about ⅓ of the eggs and mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. The dough will break but it will slowly become creamy. Once the dough is smooth and creamy, add another ⅓ of the eggs. Mix until the dough become smooth and creamy again, then mix in the final ⅓ eggs. Stir until the mixture becomes smooth, stiff, and shiny.
Let cool to room temperature before using. Meanwhile, set the rack in the middle of the oven and heat at 400°F for 30 minutes before baking.
Fit a large piping bag with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Fill the bag with the dough and push the dough to the tip.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Use a little of the dough in the corners to secure the parchment paper in place.
Pipe mounds 2-inches in diameter and space them about 3-inches apart. (You can also use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and drop mounds of dough on the prepared baking sheet. This technique yields uniform pastries.) Use a moistened fingertip to gently press down any pointed tips on the mounds.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until they are brown and completely hard on the outside. Do not open the oven during baking or they might collapse.
Transfer the pastries to a wire rack and immediately poke a skewer all the way through to release the steam trapped inside.
Make the filling
Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sugar to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the cream puffs
Split the pastry shells in half and pipe whipped cream into the bottom half. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with confectioners' sugar.