Cream Puffs Recipe

5 from 49 votes

Cream Puffs Recipe

Homemade cream puffs are better than the bakery. You won't believe how simple and easy these elegant little pastries are to make!

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Servings:

Author: Lil' Luna

Ingredients

1 cup water
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar or more or less to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, butter, granulated sugar, and salt and bring to a simmer. Once a simmer is reached, remove from the heat and stir in flour all at once until the mixture forms a ball. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well by hand or with a hand mixer between each addition. Mix until the dough is smooth and shiny.
Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip (or a resealable plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner). Pipe small (1–1½-inch) rounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Use your finger to press down the little peaks at the top of the dough, so the puffs are smooth. (Tip: Make sure all the cream puffs are the same size, so they all cook at the same rate.)
Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 15 minutes more. The puffs are done when they are lightly browned and the insides are hollow. Let the puffs cool completely.
While the puffs cool, beat cream with a hand mixer, or by hand using a wire whisk, until firm peaks form. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time until the whipped cream is as sweet as you prefer.
When puffs are cool, split each cream puff in half using a serrated knife.
Place a scoop of whipped cream onto the bottom half of each puff. Top with the other half and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead: You can store the unbaked pastry dough in an airtight container or pastry bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Baked shells can also be stored, unfilled, in an airtight container at room temperature for 1–2 days. Filled puffs are best served right away, but can be made a couple hours ahead of time and refrigerated.

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