This cream puff recipe has been in our family forever, literally. When my four daughters were young, they would sell these door-to-door when they weren’t selling loaves made from my French Bread Recipe. Of course, nowadays, I would never have them go door-to-door selling anything. Boy, has life changed. It’s sad, but that’s how it is. This recipe would be great for taking an inexpensive dessert to a party or serving a treat for Sunday dinner.
I looked online for a recipe that looked familiar but felt way too hard to make. I knew I had to find the recipe I had used for years. Oh, the joys of moving and trying to set up in a different kitchen!
We are in our new home now. So, I started looking for MY Cream Puffs Recipe, then I remembered that before my mom died, my sisters and I set up a blog on Blogspot. Hooray, I found MY recipe!
I don’t always have whipping cream in the refrigerator, but if by chance I have some and feel like making a treat, these are so easy to make and fill with a dollop of it. It’s comforting when you have all the ingredients to make delicious recipes. You’ve worked all day to make these unique desserts, but thank goodness you didn’t! LOL! You can also fill them with your favorite Instant pudding mix. If you make your custard, that would be delicious as well.
This cream puff recipe makes the puff crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. You fill them with your favorite custard, whipped cream, or instant pudding. They are so good!
Classic Cream Puffs Recipe
Kitchen Items You May Need:
- 4-quart saucepan
- Spoon
- 1/4 cup cookie scoop
- Cookie Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Hand Mixer
- Measuring Cups or 4-cup Glass Measuring Cup
Cream Puffs Recipe Ingredients
Butter adds richness and flavor to the choux dough while also helping to create a tender, crisp shell. It is melted directly into the boiling water at the start, ensuring it is evenly distributed throughout the dough before the flour is added.
Flour provides the structure of the cream puff shell. When stirred into the boiling mixture of butter and water, the starch in the flour gelatinizes, forming a sturdy paste that traps steam produced during baking and holds its shape.
Eggs are what make choux pastry unique. Beaten one at a time, they add moisture and richness and, most importantly, act as a leavening agent. The proteins in the eggs set during baking, giving the puffs their firm, hollow structure.
Whipping Cream is the soul of the cream puff filling. When beaten, the fat molecules in the cream trap air and expand into a light, billowy texture. Its natural richness makes it the perfect contrast to the crisp, delicate shell.
Powdered Sugar sweetens the whipped cream filling without the graininess that regular sugar would introduce. Because it is so finely milled, it dissolves instantly into the cream, creating a beautiful, snowy dusting on top of the finished puffs.
Water acts as the steam engine of choux pastry. When heated in the oven, the water in the dough turns to steam and puffs the shells up from the inside, creating that signature hollow center that holds the cream filling.
Cream Puffs Recipe
Step One: Gather Ingredients
Gather together all the ingredients, so you’re ready to start. I try to make sure my ingredients are as fresh as possible so I can be proud of the result.
Step Two: Preheat Oven – Choose Pan
Preheat the oven to (400°F) = (204°C)degrees. Place the water and butter in the pan and heat them to a boil.
Step Three: Add Flour to Melted Butter
Add the flour and stir over low heat for 1 minute or until it forms a ball.
Step Four: Make a Ball
This is what a “ball” form looks like.
Step Five: Beat in the Eggs
Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs all at once, ensuring the mixture is smooth. I placed all the cracked eggs in the 4-cup measuring cup and dumped them into the saucepan.
Step Six: Drop Dough on the Cookie Sheet
Drop dough by scant 1/4-cupfuls, about 2-3 inches apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. You can also use parchment paper, as I did in the picture.
Step Seven: Bake
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Let them cool.
Finished Product
Cut off the tops and, if necessary, pull out a little of the insides, then fill them with whipped cream or pudding using a spoon (or use a piping bag and squeeze the mixture in to fill). Dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy.
Classic Cream Puffs Recipe
Cream Puffs Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1-1/2 cups butter (original recipe called for margarine)
- 3 cups flour (I use bread flour)
- 12 eggs
- Whipping Cream (I have filled them with instant vanilla pudding as well)
- Powdered Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar) optional for sprinkling on them
Instructions
Cream Puffs
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Preheat oven to (400°F) = (204°C) degrees.
-
Heat water and butter to a boil. Add flour and stir over low heat for 1 minute or until it forms a ball.
-
Remove from heat and beat in the eggs all at once; beating until smooth.
-
Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-
You can also use parchment paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden.
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Let them cool. Cut off the tops and pull out the insides of the puffs, fill the puffs with whipped cream or pudding using a spoon (or use a piping bag and squeeze mixture inside to fill).
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Dust with confectioners' sugar and refrigerate until serving time. Enjoy.
Eclairs
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To make eclairs instead of cream puffs: Preheat oven to (400°F) = (204°C) degrees.
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Heat water and butter to a boil. Add flour and keep stirring over low heat for 1 minute or until it forms a ball.
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Remove from heat and beat in eggs all at once, beating until smooth.
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Shape dough into finger shapes about 4 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide on an ungreased cookie sheet.
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You can also use parchment paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let them cool.
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Cut off tops and pull out the insides of the eclair. You can fill them with pudding or whipped cream like the cream puffs. Refrigerate until serving time. Enjoy.
Eclair Chocolate Icing
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Frost with chocolate icing: Melt 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and three teaspoons of butter over low heat.
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Remove from heat and stir in 3 cups confectioners' sugar and about six tablespoons of hot water.
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Beat until smooth. Spoon over the top of the eclairs and refrigerate.
How do I store these after making them?
After baking them, I wrap them in a paper towel and store them (without the filling) on the counter. You don’t want to put them in an airtight container, or they will become soggy.
Can I store these after they are filled with whipped cream?
You can store them in the refrigerator, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for 1-2 days. But remember, fresh is always best.
Why do my cream puffs go flat?
Next time, try lowering the temperature to (375°F) = (190°C). Another reason could be that they were not cooked long enough.
What can I fill or serve over these?
- Whipped Cream
- Instant Pudding
- Custard
- Chicken ala King
- Creamed Tuna
- Cream Chipped Beef
- Fill With Scrambled Eggs
- Chicken or tuna salad – they make great little sandwiches
What is the difference between a cream puff and an eclair?
The only difference between the two is their shape and the fillings and toppings you might use. The baked product is pretty much the same. Eclairs are long, rectangular shapes filled with custard and topped with chocolate icing. The cream puffs are round and filled with whipped cream.
Final Word
Please let me know if you try making my Cream Puffs Recipe. I would love to hear from you! I’ve always had a sweet tooth, so these little gems are perfect for satisfying that urge. Life is good when you know how to cook from scratch, right? May God bless this world, Linda
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