The cream puff is the Eiffel Tower of Parisian pastries: iconic, beloved, and displayed everywhere. The recipe is so irrefutably timeless that even Pierre Hermé, France's most famous (and endlessly innovative) pastry chef, still uses the formula he learned as a 14-year-old apprentice.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 16 Servings
Ingredients
1
1
1
1
1
6
2
Preparation
Step 1
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit 1 large pastry bag (or a plastic freezer bag with 1/2-inch cut from one bottom corner) with plain 1/2-inch tip.
Step 2
Bring milk, butter, 1 tsp. sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium sauce- pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add flour all at once; reduce heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and pulls away from sides of pan, 1–2 minutes. Continue beating vigorously until a thin dry film forms on bottom and sides of pot, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.
Step 3
Add 1 egg and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until egg is incorporated and dough looks dry again, about 2 minutes. Repeat with 4 more eggs, adding one at a time and stirring vigorously to incorporate before adding the next. Dough should be smooth, shiny, and thickened.
Step 4
Spoon dough into prepared pastry bag; pipe out 2 1/2-inch-diameter rounds on pre- pared sheets, leaving 2 inches between rounds. DO AHEAD: Freeze the piped dough rounds on the baking sheets, then transfer to resealable plastic bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing apart (do not defrost) before continuing with recipe.
Step 5
Arrange racks in upper and middle thirds of oven and preheat to 450°. Whisk remaining egg with 2 tsp. water and brush dough rounds all over with egg wash.
Step 6
Transfer baking sheets to oven; turn oven off. After 10 minutes, heat oven to 350° and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans front to back and top to bottom; continue baking until deep golden brown all over, about 10 minutes longer (puffs will deflate if removed from oven before fully baked). Transfer puffs to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Step 7
Using a serrated knife, gently slice the top quarter off each puff; transfer tops to a plate. With your finger, gently push down the soft film of cooked dough inside each puff.
Step 8
Prepare a second pastry bag (or freezer bag) with 1/2-inch open-star tip. Beat heavy cream and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into prepared pastry bag. Fill each puff with cream, finishing with a generous ring of cream on top. Dust tops of cream puffs with powdered sugar; place atop puffs.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (86)
Back to TopMy dough was very wet. I had to bake about 5 minutes longer
Anonymous
11/23/2017
Brilliant recepe, but you need to add the 1/2 cup of water to the list of ingredients. Glad I watched the video first, otherwise I would have been confused by the difference in the list and the preparation.
Imaroo2
Belleville Ontario
12/19/2017
What about baking it in a gas oven? If I turn it off, I will have to open it after 10 minutes to turn it on again, and I am afraid the temperature inside will quickly drop then.
Czech Republic
12/30/2017
My dough ended up to be very watery. I didn't add half cup of water as she casually says in the video. Why dont you fix the recipe? 5 eggs is probably too much!
Anonymous
Illinois
2/16/2018
My final pastry ended up something like a flat bread!
Anonymous
Illinois
2/16/2018
I just pulled these out of the oven and my puffs are crisp and beautiful. A couple of things, to expand on some of the lower-star reviews. 1) Watch the video. It will give you an idea of the final dough consistency you are looking for, and how to tell if your dough is where it needs to be before piping. 2) Yes, they did leave out the 1/2 cup water addition in the recipe. Be sure to add it to the ingredients in the saucepan. I only used 4 eggs vs the 5 suggested. I was using eggs laid within the last day, and fresher eggs have more egg white, thus the adjustment. Had I added the 5th egg, my dough would have been too wet, as mentioned by other reviewers. Use the "v" check method, mentioned in the video, and your best judgement as to whether or not to add that last egg. As with any recipe, sometimes you need to adjust on the fly rather than follow things to the letter. Also, I'm about 6,000 feet above sea level, and this recipe did splendidly at higher altitude. Give this one a go if you love cream puffs!
jbrown13
Colorado
2/18/2018
LOVED this recipe. They were perfect, very life changing indeed. I'd love to know how best to store them, though. Will certainly make again.
Anonymous
Rochester, NY
4/4/2018