Cream Puffs are a delicate, bite-sized pastry that is filled with a delicious homemade custard and whipped cream. Contrary to popular belief, they are really simple but feel extremely fancy.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat and set aside.
Add the water and butter to medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once boiling turn heat to low and add flour all at once; stir vigorously for 1 minute.
Remove from heat. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, and beat very well between each addition. The mixture will go from slimy and wet looking to smooth and uniform after each addition. This takes a little elbow grease or you can use a stand mixer if you prefer.
Put the warm dough in a large piping bag (I don't use a tip, just the end of the open bag, you can use a large plain round tip if you'd like).
Pipe into mounds on parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 ½ inches wide and tall.
Bake 35-40 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature (about an hour) before filling.
To make the pastry cream filling:
In a large saucepan, bring the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar up to 180 degrees over medium heat, stirring very often. The mixture should be hot and start to steam across the top, but should not boil.
While the milk is heating, mix the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of sugar together in a medium bowl.
Add the egg yolks and whole egg to the cornstarch mixture and whisk to combine well.
When the milk is hot, slowly whisk one cup of hot milk into the egg mixture and then whisk the egg mixture back into the pan of hot milk.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in butter, and vanilla.
Let filling cool completely before filling pastry.
To assemble:
Cut off top of the pastry.
Fill the bottom of the pastry up with the pastry cream filling. Fill the top with the whipped cream.
Put the top on bottom and repeat with remaining pastries, pastry cream, and whipped cream.
Sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar and serve!
Notes
My sister in law Beth makes these and pipes the pastry cream and whipped cream in separately. I whipped the cream and fold it into the chilled pastry cream (I make it ahead of time and chill overnight), so it makes a fluffy version of the pastry cream. Both are delicious options.
Ensure the milk mixture for the pastry cream doesn’t boil, as boiling can cause the eggs to curdle. Keep the heat medium and watch closely.
Chill the pastry cream completely before filling to avoid melting the whipped cream. You can speed this up by placing it in an ice bath.
Refrain from opening the oven door because that will cool the oven down and could cause the pastries to flatten. Under baking will also cause them to flatten as they cool.
You can also fill these with a little fruit or jam in addition to the pastry cream. You can also drizzle chocolate on top if you'd like.
If you want to make the cream puffs and fill them with chicken salad, it's a fun dish to serve at a party!