Basic Cream Puffs with Craquelin

Cream puffs or Choux Puffs are some of my favourite desserts to make at home. Making cream puffs are very reminiscent for me, as I used to make these every year for my ex-boyfriend. It was his favourite dessert and it’s no surprise. Crispy but tender dough with sweet and fluffy cream, these cream puffs are such a delight. Even my Korean mother gets excited when I make these and raves about how yummy they are and that they’re not overly sweet. We all know the best compliment from your Asian mother is “It’s not that sweet!”.

Making cream puffs can be very intimidating but after making them for years, I finally have figured out how to nail them every single time. These cream puffs have three components and there are a few crucial steps you need to follow to ensure a perfect cream puff.

Three Components in Cream Puffs

My cream puffs are divided into three components: Choux Pastry, Diplomat Cream and Craquelin. One great part of this recipe is that you don’t have to prepare all the components at once. You can make the craquelin weeks in advance. You can make the choux pastry a few days in advance. The diplomat cream should be made fresh, but can alternatively be made one day in advance if you’re in a pinch! Because cream puffs are best eaten the day of, I usually prepare everything the night before and bake and assemble them in the morning.

If I’m preparing the components in advance, let’s say 1-2 days in advance I will make them in this order.

1. Craquelin – Rolled out, cut into circles and stored in the freezer.
2. Choux Pastry- I make the choux pastry and transfer it into a piping bag and store it in the fridge. Before piping, take the choux pastry out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Diplomat Cream– I will make the custard part of the diplomat cream in advance, but make the whipped cream either the day of or the night before. However, I will not combine the custard and whipped cream until the day of.

If you are making the cream puffs the day of, make the custard first, then the craquelin, then the choux pastry, and finally make the whipped cream before assembling the puffs.

Choux Pastry

Cream puffs are made with a dough called ‘Choux Pastry’. It’s made from water and/or milk, butter, flour, salt, and optionally sugar. Choux pastry is used in not only cream puffs but also in many other desserts such as eclairs, churros and beignets. The dough itself comes together very easily and is probably one of the easiest parts of this recipe. There are some varieties in recipes out there but I chose to keep mine simple.

I use all water in my choux. I find using all water gives it a drier and crispier dough, whereas using all milk or a combination of water and milk creates more of a creamy dough. As long as you keep the measurement of wet ingredients to 1 Cup (250mL), you can use water, milk or both.

Sugar is optional but I like to add one Tbsp of sugar in the choux pastry. As the dough also contains 1 Tsp of salt, I find the 1 Tbsp of sugar helps balance the dough out nicely. Sugar is optional, but remember salt is not. Salt helps give flavour and dimension to any recipe and is crucial in choux pastry. The rest of the ingredients are basic: Butter, Flour, and Eggs.

Diplomat Cream

The filling inside the cream puffs is just as important as the puffs themselves. I use a diplomat cream, which is a combination of custard and whipped cream. You can alternatively use just custard or use only whipped cream. I like the combination because you get that creamy custard flavour with the light and fluffy whipped cream.

In this recipe, we make a very simple vanilla diplomat cream. As this is a basic cream puff recipe, it’s important to have a base flavour. You can be super creative here and make a whole variety of flavours. I’ve made mango cream puffs, earl grey cream puffs and more! I wanted to share this base recipe first, and then I will share other flavours in the future.

Craquelin

I’ve always been used to Korean cream puffs. Softer, lighter and smaller puffs that don’t have a craquelin. A craquelin in french literally means “cracker”. It’s basically a cookie topping that goes on top of your cream puffs and adds a thin but crispy layer. Craquelin is made from three basic ingredients: Butter, Sugar and Flour. I also add a pinch of salt because I’m a firm believer in adding a pinch of salt to EVERYTHING. Craquelin is easy to make because it’s equal weights (60g) of butter, sugar to flour.

Craquelin is totally optional, and if you prefer a more Korean-style cream puff you can skip it. However, now that I’ve started making cream puffs with craquelin, I feel like I can’t go back to making them without. I love that the craquelin adds another dimension of texture but still blends in with the cream puffs. It adds a delightful sweet crunch on top. It reminds me of the top of melon pan.

I use brown sugar over granulated sugar because I prefer a darker colour. You can alternatively use granulated sugar but the end colour will be slightly lighter. I find brown sugar also gives it a more crisp and rich texture. The difference is subtle though so use whatever you have!

Tips to Making Perfect Cream Puffs

1. Choux Pastry: When making your choux pastry make sure you do two things. Firstly, when adding in the flour, add it all in one step and then vigorously mix until the mixture forms a ball of dough. Cook it for 1-2 minutes until a film forms on the bottom of your pot. Secondly, make sure you add in one egg at a time to your cooled dough, and thoroughly combine the mixture before adding the next egg. This will ensure you get a smooth dough.
   
   
2. Craquelin: When making your craquelin, make sure you freeze the dough after rolling it out. It’s so much easier to cut out the craquelin when it is frozen. Work quickly by cutting them out and transferring the craquelin into a container lined with parchment. Freeze the circles before using them. This will ensure you get a crispy top.
   
   
3. Baking: The hardest part of making cream puffs is actually baking them. I would say, 90% of my failures came from baking them in the past. It is super important you do NOT open the oven door until your cream puffs are 95-100% done. Prematurely opening the oven before your cream puffs have formed will deflate them and you will not get an airy and crispy dough. Turn on your oven light and watch for even browning. Cream puffs are done when they are golden brown throughout, and if you pick one up it easily pulls from the parchment and the bottoms will also be golden brown and set. You can also smell a sweet, eggy (egg-tart-like) smell when the cream puffs are done baking.
   
   
4. Diplomat Cream: Ensure you cool your custard completely and it thickens in the fridge before mixing it with the whipped cream. The cream needs to be thick enough it does not pour out of the cream puffs or melt all over it. Make your custard first and let it cool for a few hours in the fridge before combining it with your whipped cream.
   
   
5. Assembling: Cool your cream puffs completely before you add the filling. Let them cool for around 45 minutes then cut them in half. Then add diplomat cream to the cooled cream puffs. Dust optionally with powdered sugar, and or decorate with strawberries/chocolate-covered strawberries. They are delicious on their own, but I love to serve them with fresh fruit!

Looking for more detailed recipes? Check out my Macaron 101 Recipe.