cream puffs (choux pastry) filled with vanilla pastry cream. Here’s the full bakery-style recipe from scratch 👇
🍮 Classic Cream Puffs (Choux à la Crème)
📝 Makes about 18–22 cream puffs
🥖 Part 1: Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)
Ingredients
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1 cup (240 ml) water
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½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter
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1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
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¼ tsp salt
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4 large eggs (room temperature)
Instructions
1️⃣ Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2️⃣ Boil liquid:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
3️⃣ Add flour:
Remove from heat. Add flour all at once. Stir vigorously until smooth.
4️⃣ Cook dough:
Return to heat and cook 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides.
5️⃣ Cool slightly:
Let sit 5 minutes.
6️⃣ Add eggs:
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Dough should be smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
7️⃣ Pipe:
Pipe or spoon 1½-inch mounds onto baking sheet.
8️⃣ Bake:
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400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes
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Reduce to 350°F (175°C) and bake 10–15 more minutes until golden brown and dry.
⚠️ Do NOT open the oven early or they may collapse.
9️⃣ Cool completely before filling.
🍦 Part 2: Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling
Ingredients
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2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
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½ cup (100 g) sugar
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4 egg yolks
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¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
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1 tbsp butter
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2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1️⃣ Heat milk in saucepan until steaming (not boiling).
2️⃣ In a bowl, whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth.
3️⃣ Slowly pour warm milk into egg mixture while whisking.
4️⃣ Return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick (2–4 minutes).
5️⃣ Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
6️⃣ Cover with plastic wrap touching surface. Chill 2 hours.
🧁 Assemble
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Slice cream puffs in half (or poke hole underneath).
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Pipe chilled pastry cream inside.
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Replace tops.
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Optional: Dust with powdered sugar.
⭐ Pro Tips
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For extra light filling: Fold ½ cup whipped cream into chilled pastry cream.
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For chocolate version: Add 4 oz melted chocolate to warm pastry cream.
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Store filled puffs in fridge up to 2 days.
If you’d like, I can also give you:
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A shortcut version
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Chocolate éclairs version
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Or a no-fail beginner method 💛