Try this Simple and Easy Cream Puffs recipe
- Carbohydrate 5.78435677778067 g
- Cholesterol 8.78750001036449 mg
- Fat 3.21243122613229 g
- Fiber 0.000294444444444444 g
- Protein 0.572913333374309 g
- Saturated Fat 2.03294022469852 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (29g)
- Sodium 39.0609948416561 mg
- Sugar 5.78406233333623 g
- Trans Fat 0.222169222495941 g
- Calories 53 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan.
- Add the butter to the water and stir until it is melted.
- Add the flour and salt all at once to the water mix.
- Stir until a ball is formed.
- Remove from heat, and add 1 egg. Beat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining eggs 1 at a time, and beat after each addition.
- Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Drop the dough on to a cookie sheet 1 of 2 ways: (I used a heaping tbsp for each puff) See picture below. Make sure they are about 2 inches apart.
- You can drop with a spoon OR put the dough into a ziplock bag, snip the corner off, and pipe the dough on to the cookie sheet. This is the method I chose!
- Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Start checking them around 20 minutes. Mine took 30 minutes.
Making successful choux pastry relies entirely on gelatinizing starches during the initial stovetop phase so the dough can trap steam and expand properly in the oven. Boiling the water and butter before dumping in the flour all at once ensures the liquid hydrates the flour instantly, creating a thick paste that pulls away from the sides of the saucepan to form a cohesive ball. Incorporating the eggs one by one requires patience because adding them to a scalding mixture will scramble the proteins, whereas letting the dough rest for five minutes after the first egg brings the temperature down to a safe threshold. When adding the remaining three eggs individually, beat thoroughly after each addition until the shiny batter drops from your spoon in a thick, V-shaped ribbon rather than running off like liquid. Piping these portions two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet prevents the rising pastries from fusing together while allowing the 375 degree Fahrenheit heat to circulate freely around each mound.
Because these pastries are rich, buttery, and inherently neutral in sweetness before filling, they demand a thoughtful accompaniment that balances their density without overwhelming the delicate crust. Pairing the finished puffs with tart fruit compotes, such as a sharp raspberry or passion fruit coulis, cuts through the high fat content of both the butter-heavy pastry and the whipped cream interior. Alternatively, serving them alongside a bitter espresso or a dark roast drip coffee provides a bracing contrast to the sweet dairy filling. Ensuring the baked shells cool completely on a wire rack before piercing prevents internal condensation from turning the crisp exterior soggy.
For longer storage windows, un-filled baked puffs can be frozen in airtight containers for up to one month and re-crisped directly from the freezer in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for five minutes. Letting them thaw too long at room temperature ruins the structural integrity of the dried crust, making crispness restoration impossible.
