Yield:

The perfect cream puff begins with the perfect pâte à choux. This traditional French pastry is first cooked on the stove top before the warm dough gets transferred to a pastry bag and piped onto baking sheets to be finished in the oven. The ideal pâte à choux should rise high and light in the oven, with a hollow pocket on the inside that leaves room for luscious fillings.

Because pâte à choux relies entirely on eggs for its leavening, it’s especially important to pay attention to your technique and follow the instructions correctly when you add the eggs. The high moisture content in the dough creates steam in the oven, and the steam is what helps form the airy pocket on the inside. It’s also important to bake your pâte à choux for long enough—and without opening the oven (i.e., no peeking!)—so the interior is dry, not doughy or gummy. Pâte à choux that’s damp on the inside may collapse or quickly become soggy.

More Cream Puff Fillings

In addition to the rich vanilla pastry cream filling that’s included in this recipe, you can fill your puffs with any other flavor of custard (such as chocolate or green tea); lemon curd; Chantilly cream (sweetened vanilla whipped cream); or savory fillings like smoked salmon spread or crab salad. You can add the filling in one of two ways: either cut a small X in the bottom of each puff and fill each one with a small piping tip, or cut puffs in half horizontally and fill each one like a sandwich.

Other Uses for Pâte à Choux

Besides cream puffs, pâte à choux can be the base for profiteroles (puffs filled with ice cream), eclairs (elongated or bar-shaped cream puffs, covered with chocolate glaze), gougères (savory puffs, with cheese mixed into the dough and baked on top), as well as churros.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
No-Fuss Pastry Cream

Directions

Preheat oven; prepare baking sheets:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make dough in a saucepan:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water.
Cook dough:

Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.

To make sure the dough cooks long enough to create light, airy cream puffs, continue to stir on stove top until a film forms on bottom of pan.
Remove dough from heat; add eggs:

Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.

Eggs are the main leavening agent in pâte à choux. They are what add the lift and volume to your puffs, so don't cut corners on this step—be sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one.
Prepare egg wash:

For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
Place dough in pastry bag:

Transfer the pâte à choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip.
Pipe dough onto pan:

Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan.

Place a small dollop of dough under each corner of parchment paper to hold it in place on the pan before you begin piping.
Smooth tops of rounds:

Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising.
Brush with egg wash and bake:

Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Fill puffs with pastry cream:

Use a paring knife to make a small X in the bottom of each puff to create an opening for filling. Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make cream puffs ahead of time?

Filled cream puffs are best when eaten the same day they’re made. However, you can pre-make the pâte à choux and the filling separately, waiting until just before serving to combine them. Pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. And pâte à choux can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one day, or in the freezer for up to one month. Re-crisp the pastry in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about five minutes then let cool before filling.

Is cream puff pastry the same as puff pastry?

Cream puff pastry, also called pâte à choux, is made and handled differently that puff pastry. Pâte à choux dough is leavened with eggs, and is cooked on the stovetop then piped onto a baking sheet. Puff pastry gets its height from many thin layers of butter between each dough layer, and must be kept very cold until right before it’s baked.

Why did my cream puff deflate?

There are multiple reasons why cream puffs may deflate. The first cause is undercooking. When preparing dough on the stovetop, be sure to keep cooking and stirring until a film forms on the bottom of the saucepan. Another cause of flat cream puffs is lowering the temperature during baking. That means: NO PEEKING!