Cream Puffs are a classic French dessert of light and delicate pastry shells filled with pastry cream, topped with chocolate ganache, maraschino cherries, and dusted with powdered sugar.
This cream puff recipe comes from my grandmother’s kitchen and has the most delicious and easy to make filling. Old-fashioned cream puffs are the perfect holiday dessert!
Cream puffs which are an iconic French pastry readily found at French bakeries can easily be replicated at home in about an hour. The choux pastry dough is easy to make with a few simple and expensive ingredients.
Ready to create something truly amazing for the holidays? And our holidays would not be complete without this amazing holiday dessert!
My grandma was amazing in the kitchen! This cream puff recipe starts with my grandmother’s recipe for choux pastry and filled with simple pastry cream. Choux pastry or pâté à choux is easy to make!
Why this recipe works
- Easy to make dessert. Takes only minutes combine the ingredients!
- Made with simple ingredients, readily available in your local grocery store.
- Make ahead of time – Make the cream puffs and filling the night before to save time!
- Perfect homemade dessert – This cream puff recipe is the perfect holiday dessert or any occasion.
What you’ll need
- Water
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs – Used as a leavening agent help the pastries rise.
- Vanilla instant pudding – Used for the pasty filling folded together with the whipping cream.
- Whole milk – Added to the instant pudding.
- Almond extract – Adds a wonderful flavor to the pudding. Grandma insisted on it!
- Heavy whipping cream – Whipped up to stiff peaks and folded with the chilled instant pudding mixture.
How to make Choux Pastry for Cream Puffs
With just 5-ingredients, you’ll have choux pastry- water, butter (or shortening), salt, flour and eggs. It’s so simple to make this French pastry dough!
(Full directions and ingredients in the recipe below!)
Step 1: In a medium saucepan bring the water to a boil.
Step 2: Add the salt and butter or shortening.
Step 3: Add the flour, stirring until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the sides of the pan.
Step 4: Add the eggs, one at a time using an electric hand mixer.
How to make Cream Puff Filling
My grandmother created this egg-less version of pastry cream, so it is easier to transport during hot summer months!
Step 1: Combine one package of instant vanilla pudding, almond extract and milk.
Step 2: Fold together with the whipped heavy cream.
Recipe FAQs
Prepare the cream puffs the night before your picnic. Place them on a half sheet pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Dust them with powdered sugar right before serving.
Besides the shape. The main difference between a cream puff, which is round, and an éclair, which is oval, is that cream puffs often have a whipped cream filling and just dusted with powdered sugar instead of chocolate. Eclairs often have a custard filling and have a frosted chocolate topping.
More Dessert Recipes
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Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable shortening or butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs room temperature
Pastry Cream
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
Chocolate Ganache
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- maraschino cherries (drain the maraschino cherries)
- mint leaf candies cut into pieces with kitchen shears
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Choux Pastry
- In a medium saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the shortening or butter, and salt. Let the water return to a full boil and then remove from the heat.
- Add the flour, stirring until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the sides of the pan.
- Using an electric hand mixer on high speed, add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix well between additions. The mixture will be very smooth and silky looking. Allow cream puff batter to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Using two large tablespoon drop the batter in about 8 to 9 scoops on the prepared baking pan. (or use a cookie scoop or pastry bag to pipe cream puffs onto sheet pan.)
- Bake for 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set pan on a baking rack to cool.
Pastry Cream
- In a large bowl add the vanilla pudding, milk, and almond extract; blend together. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator.
- When ready to fill cream puffs, add the heavy cream to a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip to stiff peaks. Fold the pudding mixture and whipped cream together using a spatula.
- Slice the tops off the cream puffs, removing and discarding some of the pastry with your fingers. Scoop the filling into each cream puff.
Chocolate Ganache
- Create a double boiler by bringing a medium pot of water to a simmer over medium heat. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the simmering water, adding the chocolate chips, butter, heavy cream, and corn syrup to the bowl.
- Stir mixture together with a spatula until the chocolate is melted and combined.
- As soon as this mixture starts to melt, turn the heat off and stir until smooth.
Cream Puffs
- Once cream puffs are cooled, fill them with pastry filling.
- Cut tops off of the cream puffs using a sharp knife.
- Either spoon pastry cream filling with a large spoon or pipe it inside of cream puffs using a pastry bag.
- Cover pastry cream with cream puffs tops.
- Drizzle warm chocolate over top of the pastry filled cream puffs. Decorated with drained maraschino cherries and mint leaf candies. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Amber Myers says
Oh yum! I’m sure I’d love these. And they look pretty too. You’re so talented.
Nabanita Dhar says
Oh my this looks so good.
I’m not a great cook so not sure if it will come out the way it should if I try
But you have mee craving these for sure
Jessica Robinson says
These are super simple to make Nabanita! Just follow the step by step instructions and you’ll be loving these!
Erika says
These look like they would be a great addition to our upcoming bake sale at church! People would love these!
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Erika!! These are such a loved dessert. Just keep in mind, they need to be refrigerated. 🙂
shelby says
Cream puffs were ALWAYS a favorite growing up and I still love them! This recipe brings me back for sure. Looks absolutely delicious!
Natalie says
I love cream puffs! It’s definitely one of my top favorite desserts in the world – to eat and to make 🙂 These look amazing! I love the pastry cream filling – it’s simply the best.
Veena Azmanov says
Wow, these Old Fashioned Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream are so cute! I would love to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Thank you for sharing this great recipe! Yum Yum Yum!!!!
Wajeeha says
Cream puffs are one of my favorite childhood memories. I still remember the first time I bit into one of these fluffy desserts filled with the most delicious pastry cream. Your recipe looks divine, I’ll be trying it soon! 🙂
georgie says
these look beautiful!!! i absolutely love cream puffs, they’re probably my favourite dessert! they’re small, therefore I can have more than one right!? 😉
michele says
All of my skills came from spending time in the kitchen with my grandmothers and mom too. Your cream puff is a little different than our handed down recipe… Im looking forward to trying it to see how it compares, I love doing side by side taste testing… :).
Sara Lehman says
These look completely decadent! There is nothing like a cream puff!
Chrissy says
Aw, how sweet that you have those memories with your grandmother. These cream puffs look absolutely delectable. I can’t remember the last time I had a cream puff but I’m totally craving this now.
Jessica Robinson says
Chrissy,
Thanks so much! I love all of her handwritten recipes. Such cherished memories!
Amy Nash says
Your cream puffs are beautiful! Mine turned out a little more sloppy, lol, but they tasted delicious!
Felesha Bell says
How darling are these little guys!!! Yum!!
Emily says
These cream puffs look so amazing! What a lovely dessert idea!
Lisa Torres says
These are beyond gorgeous Jessica! I always thought cream puffs were too hard to make at home, and boy was I wrong about that. What a beautiful family heirloom recipe, thank you so much for sharing it with us. I am hungry now!