Making perfect Cream Puffs at home is a lot easier than you think! My recipe uses a homemade pastry cream filling (no pudding mixes here!) for the best, classic taste. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Perfect Cream Puffs From Scratch
Ready to feel like a fancy French pastry chef? Today we are making perfect cream puffs from scratch! We’ll be using my grandmother’s easy recipe for choux pastry (also known as pâte à choux) and filling it with my simple pastry cream. These are impressive and bakery-display-window-worthy, but also super simple to make (shockingly simple!). They are always a huge hit at parties!
A quick rant/clarification: yes, these cream puffs are filled (not sandwiched!) with pastry cream (not whipped cream!). So many cream puff recipes today involve cutting the puffs in half and sandwiching them with whipped cream or a fluffed up pudding from a box–this drives me crazy! Cream puffs should be filled, and they should always be filled with pastry cream. This is the traditional and proper way to make them, and that’s how I designed my recipe.
If you’d like to go the non-traditional route, you can use my homemade whipped cream or stabilized whipped cream for a piped sandwich filling. We just won’t be friends anymore 😉
What You Need
We’ll start with the pastry cream, since it needs to chill before piping. You’ll need:
- Egg yolks. We’ll be using just the egg yolks today. I provide a few options for using up your egg whites below.
- Cornstarch. This thickens our pastry cream and gives it a velvety texture.
- Milk and cream. I like to use whole milk, but really any kind will work. Double cream or whipping cream will work instead of heavy cream. Alternatively, you can just use 2 cups of half and half instead of the milk and cream.
- Vanilla. You can use real vanilla beans or vanilla extract; I provide instructions for how to use both below.
Choux (pronounced “shoo”) pastry may sound fancy but it’s actually very simple to make. You need just a few humble ingredients:
- Flour. Regular, all-purpose flour will work just fine here.
- Butter. Use unsalted butter and make sure it’s cut into tablespoon-sized pieces before adding it.
- Eggs. Make sure yours are at room temperature before you add them. Forgot to set yours out? Check out my how to quickly bring eggs to room temperature post for a helpful trick!
- Water and salt. For moisture and flavor.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t want to waste your leftover egg whites? Use them to make my white cake, angel food cake, zebra cake, meringue cookies, swiss meringue buttercream, or marshmallow frosting.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make the Pastry Cream
Since first sharing my cream puff recipe, I have slightly modified my pastry cream method to make it simpler. The version that I share in the video and in the post is the original method that I have used for years, but if you’re looking for a shortcut version, you can make a single batch of my new pastry cream, which I’ve linked to in the recipe card.
- Simmer and cool – Cook cream, milk, ⅓ cup sugar, vanilla bean (if using) and salt over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Combine eggs and sugar – In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar until the sugar starts to dissolve.
- Temper the eggs – Whisk cornstarch into the egg mixture, then slowly drizzle about ⅓ cup of the cream mixture in while whisking constantly.
- Add the cream – Slowly drizzle in the remaining cream mixture while whisking constantly, then return the pot to the stove and cook over medium heat until the pastry cream thickens.
- Strain – Pour the cream through a fine mesh strainer and add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract, if using.
- Cover and chill – Cover with plastic, pressing down to make sure it stays against the surface of the cream. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the fridge to chill for 2-4 hours.
How to Make Choux Pastry
- Boil water and butter – Bring the water, butter, and salt to a rolling boil over medium heat.
- Stir in the flour – Add the flour and turn heat down to medium-low. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula and try to work out any clumps of flour as you go.
- Remove from heat – Once the dough forms a ball and all moisture has been absorbed, remove the pan from heat and stir the dough to cool it down.
- Add the eggs – After several minutes, add the eggs one at a time, stirring until completely combined after each addition.
- Bake – Pipe the dough into mounds on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure your oven is completely preheated and do not open the oven door until the puffs look golden brown and dry. Before they are finished they will have a greasy, wet-looking exterior.
How to Make Cream Puffs
- Pierce the puffs – Once the puffs have finished baking, remove them from the oven and use a knife to pierce a hole in the side of each. Remember, they will be very hot at this point, so move carefully and quickly and take care not to scorch your fingertips!
- Return to the oven – As soon as you’ve pierced each puff, immediately return them to the oven and turn it off. Crack the door and let the puffs sit in the warm oven for another 10 minutes.
- Fill and enjoy! Remove the puffs from the oven and let them cool completely before filling with pastry cream (using the holes you made earlier) and dusting with powdered sugar.
SAM’S TIP: Returning the puffs to the oven after piercing them helps prevent them from cooling too quickly, which can cause them to collapse on themselves. More on this below!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cream puffs usually collapse for one of the following reasons:
Your oven wasn’t properly preheated or is not at the right temperature. High heat is critical for getting these puffs to rise and bake up structurally sound.
You opened the oven door during the baking process. Every time you open the oven door, the temperature drops and the rush of cold air can keep your puffs from rising properly or staying puffed once cooled.
You removed them from the oven too soon.
It’s important that they be golden brown and dry and firm. Make sure you have a working light in your oven so you can check without opening your oven door! If you make your puffs larger or smaller than indicated in the recipe, your baking time will vary, so it’s important to check for these visual cues.
Yes, you can make these cream puffs 2-3 days in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can also make the pastry cream a day or two ahead of time; just be sure to keep it cold in the fridge in an airtight container.
Yes! These can be frozen for several weeks. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
Want to take your cream puffs to the next level? Dip the tops in chocolate ganache (this essentially makes them eclairs, just shaped differently!)!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
PASTRY CREAM:
- 1 cup (236 ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (67 g) + 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 1 vanilla bean¹ split in half lengthwise
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks room temp
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened and cut into 4 pieces
CHOUX PASTRY
- 1 cup (236 ml) water
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- Powdered sugar for dusting cream puffs
Recommended Equipment
- Fine mesh sieve
Instructions
PASTRY CREAM (see note)
- Combine cream, milk, ⅓ cup (67g) sugar, vanilla bean, and salt in a medium-sized heavy bottomed saucepan. Place on stovetop over medium heat. Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes (stir occasionally).1 cup (236 ml) whole milk, 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream, ⅓ cup (67 g) + 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 vanilla bean¹, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 3 Tablespoons of sugar. Whisk vigorously for about 15 seconds, until sugar is beginning to dissolve.5 large egg yolks room temp
- Sprinkle cornstarch over egg/sugar mixture and whisk until combined and slightly thickened.3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Once your cream mixture has cooled, slowly drizzle about ⅓ cup of the cream mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (this will temper your eggs and gradually adding the heated cream will prevent them from cooking!). Slowly, while still whisking, drizzle in the remainder of your cream mixture until the cream and egg mixture are completely combined.
- Pour mixture back into saucepan and return to stovetop over medium heat. Whisk frequently until thickened.
- Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl (vanilla bean should be caught by the strainer and should be discarded now).
- Whisk in butter, one piece at a time until completely combined. If you didn’t use a vanilla bean, stir in the vanilla extract at this point, too.4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Place plastic wrap directly in contact with the surface of the pastry cream to keep a skin from forming. Allow to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until near room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2-4 hours. Meanwhile, prepare your choux pastry.
CHOUX PASTRY
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C) and line a large baking sheet or two smaller baking sheets² with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine water, butter, and salt in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil.1 cup (236 ml) water, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Once mixture is boiling, add flour and turn down heat to medium/low. Stir continuously with a spatula until moisture is absorbed and mixture forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pot.1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- Remove from heat and stir for several minutes to cool down the mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring very well after each addition until mixture is smooth and velvety.4 large eggs
- Transfer mixture to a piping bag (or to a large Ziploc bag with one corner snipped) and pipe onto prepared baking sheets by mounds about 2” wide by 1” tall, spacing each mound at least 1 ½ inches apart. Lightly dampen your fingers with cold water and gently press down any peaks on the pastry mounds.
- Transfer to 400F (200C) oven and bake for 30 minutes or until cream puffs appear dry and light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and use a sharp knife to pierce the lower center of each cream puff, inserting knife about halfway into cream puff (be careful, cream puffs will be hot!)³. Replace each puff on baking sheet and return to oven. Turn off oven and let pastry sit in the oven with the oven door cracked for another 10 minutes.
- Once 10 minutes has passed, remove from oven and allow to cool completely on baking sheet.Allow to cool completely before piping with pastry cream.
- To fill with cream, place pastry cream in a piping bag fitted with a small tip (I used a Wilton 5). Insert piping tip into each cream puff and fill until pastry cream is beginning to come out the hole.
- Lightly dust the top of each cream puff with powdered sugar just before serving (the sugar will dissolve in the refrigerator if not served right away).Powdered sugar
- Enjoy! Store cream puffs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or freeze for several weeks.
Notes
Pastry Cream Note
I recently shared a new method for making pastry cream that I think is even simpler than this method. Feel free to use one batch of my new pastry cream recipe instead, or stick with this one, either way you’ll get great results!¹Vanilla
If you don’t have a vanilla bean, instead use 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract. However, don’t add the vanilla extract until step 7.²Baking sheet
Make sure that if you use a large baking sheet there is enough room to fit all 20 cream puffs, and if you use two smaller ones make sure they will both fit in your oven. Choux pastry takes a while to cook and you want to be able to cook all of your puffs at once.³Cream Puff Sandwiches
If your preference is to slice the cream puffs in half rather than piercing and filling them, you can skip this step of piercing them (particularly if you wish to fill them with something that’s not easily pipe-able, like ice cream). Simply turn off the oven, crack the door and allow them to cool as instructed then slice them in half once they are completely cooled.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days (after 2 days they can get a bit soggy). You may also place in an airtight container then freeze for a month or longer.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Hani
I don’t have any heavy cream so could I substitute it with whipping cream or something else?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Hani! Whipping cream will work fine. 🙂
Tami J Gorman
This is a great recipe thank you it came out fantastic…
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Tami! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Emily
Just wondering what the bake time would be for small puffs about an inch wide instead of large ones? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Emily! Since I am not certain of the exact size, I am not certain of the bake time. I recommend just keeping an eye on them. Enjoy! 🙂
Lisa M Newell
Wow! Never thought I could make home made cream puffs, but I can, thanks to you!!! I made them again this weekend and this time, I made a chocolate creme pat. I folded in whipped cream to the thick chocolate creme pat and turned it into creme diplomat. I could not have done this without your very easy to follow, very successful recipe. Thank you again…
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cream puffs, Lisa! I love that you substituted with chocolate cream this go around and that it turned out perfectly for you. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Tami J Gorman
This is a great recipe thank you it came out fantastic…
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that the cream puffs turned out perfectly for you, Tami! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Cheryl
I made this recipe and I was amazed that I was actually able to make cream puffs. The recipe was so easy to follow. Thank you for the step by step video. They turned out great. I was wondering if it’s ok to fill the shells with real whipped.
Cheryl
How far ahead can I make the cream? And how can I store it to use later?
Sam
Hi Cheryl! It will keep chilled in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5 days 🙂
Cheryl
Thank you so much!
Cheryl
Can these recipes be tripled? Cream puff and filling?
Sugar Spun Run
That should be fine, Cheryl! Enjoy! 🙂
Rachel
What’s up with stating that the chilling time is 1 hour at the top of the recipe, but down in the instructions stating that the cream needs to chill for 2-4 hours?? Bummer I don’t have time to make these tonight after looking forward to them all day.
Sam
I’m sorry, Rachel. I have it clarified in the intro that the cream needs to be made in advance but I am updating the chill time in the recipe now to make it more clear there as well. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Sherry
Can you post the meringue cookie recipe?
Sam
Hi Sherry! Here is the recipe for meringue cookies. 🙂
F. O.
Can you use these to make a Croquembouche?
Sam
I think that will work just fine. Let me know how it turns out. Enjoy! 🙂
Maria
These were great! I’ve always been a bit intimidated by French-patisserie-like baking but these were phenomenal!! Lol I may have had to make the choux pastry twice (after leaving it on the heat for 5 times as long as I was supposed to the first time) but it was all worth it. Thanks so much for all your hard work on the recipes…we all really appreciate it :). Good luck with your new baby!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Maria! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cream puffs. Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
Fran Frost
Good recipe. Great directions! Thanks much.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Fran! I am so glad that you enjoyed the homemade cream puffs! 🙂
Debby
What size tip do you use for piping the puffs onto the parchment and what size tip do you use for piping the cream into the puff
Sam
Hi Debby! I think you will find all of the info you are looking for in the recipe. I do not use a tip for piping the choux pastry, I just use a piping bag with the end snipped off and include notes in the recipe as to the size that you are looking for. For the filling I use a Wilton 5. I hope that helps!
Jayme
Have you ever used piping tip 230 instead of using a knife to make holes ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hey, Jayme! I have! It works well too. I try to create recipes with items everyone has on hand. 🙂
Jayme Baca
Okay thanks!!! So at the end do you not bake them for 10 minutes after poking the holes?
Mackenzie
These were really fun to make and eat! Definitely worth the time…. now do you have any ideas on what to do with the egg whites? 🙂
Sam
Hi Mackenzie! You can always make my Meringue Cookie recipe! 🙂
Tim
OMG !! My wife has been looking for a cream puff recipe and like magic this one appears. She said they were easy to make and your directions were as she never knew about poking a hole and putting them back in the oven. My part in it was the taste test and yes truthfully they were the best I’ve ever had!! Two thumbs and two big toes up.
Sam
It must have been fate! I’m so happy to hear that both of you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how you enjoyed them, I really appreciate it! 🙂
Cynthia
Will try this ome tomorrow! But I just had to let you know that your videos are absolutely the best Ive watched! Clear and precise, and most of all you show the dough etc., in it’s different stages! Helps beginners like myself something to shoot for!!!! Thank you very much! Sending wishes for your continued success! 🥣
Sam
Thank you so much for this kind comment, Cynthia! That really means a lot to me. I really try to make my videos as helpful as possible so it is so nice to hear that they are serving their purpose! I hope you love the cream puffs when you try them and thank you again for your kind words <3
Heather Fisher
One thing I would say is don’t discard the vanilla pod. They are expensive and still have goodness to give. Rinse off the pod and dry it completely. Put it in a container plain granulated sugar and let it sit. The vanilla essence left in the pod will be absorbed by the sugar and give light vanilla scent to the sugar. Very nice for any vanilla flavoured recipe or just in tea or coffee for a lovely floral scent.
Sam
Thank you for the tip, Heather! I’ve never saved mine like this, good to know I can get more use out of it. Especially considering how expensive they are right now!