Classic Cream Puffs with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Why you’ll love it

• Bakery-style results: crisp, airy shells and a rich, real-vanilla filling.
• Simple ingredients: milk, eggs, butter, flour and sugar, nothing hard to find.
• Make-ahead friendly: bake the shells and cook the cream days before, then fill.

Quick facts

Ingredients

For the vanilla pastry cream

• 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the choux pastry

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs (about 200 g), at room temperature, beaten in a measuring cup

To finish

• 2 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting

Step-by-step method

1. Heat the milk. For the pastry cream, heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until steaming and small bubbles appear around the edge. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until smooth and pale.

2. Cook the pastry cream. Slowly pour about half of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick, 2 to 3 minutes; once it starts to bubble, keep whisking 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.

3. Chill the cream. Strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until cold and set.

4. Make the choux dough. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a boil over medium heat. Add the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until a smooth ball forms. Keep stirring 2 to 3 minutes, until a thin film covers the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the eggs. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and beat 1 to 2 minutes with a hand mixer to cool it slightly. Add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop when the dough is smooth and glossy and falls from the beaters in a thick V-shaped ribbon; you may not need the last spoonful of egg.

6. Pipe the puffs. Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) round tip (or a zip-top bag with the corner cut off). Pipe 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) mounds about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, 12 per pan. Smooth any pointed tips with a wet fingertip.

7. Bake. Bake 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F (190°C) without opening the door and bake 18 to 20 minutes more, until deep golden and firm. Turn off the oven, poke a small slit in the side of each puff with a paring knife to release steam, and return them to the oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes to dry. Cool completely on a rack.

8. Fill and serve. Whisk the cold pastry cream until smooth and spoon it into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe the cream into each puff through the slit (or split the puffs in half and spoon the cream inside). Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

How to know it is done

The baked puffs are ready when they are deep golden brown all over, including the sides and the little cracks, feel light for their size and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. If the sides give when you press them, bake a few minutes more. The pastry cream is done when it is thick, glossy and holds a trail when you lift the whisk.

Tips for the best result

• Measure the flour by weight if you can; too much flour makes stiff dough and flat puffs.
• Cook the dough on the stove until it leaves a film in the pan; drying it well is what makes the puffs rise.
• Add the eggs gradually and check the texture as you go, since egg sizes vary.
• Do not open the oven during the first 20 minutes, or the puffs can collapse.
• Fill the puffs no more than 2 to 3 hours before serving so the shells stay crisp.

Variations and substitutions

• Chocolate-topped: heat 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream, pour it over 2 oz (57 g) chopped semisweet chocolate, stir until smooth and dip the tops of the filled puffs.
• Chocolate pastry cream: whisk 3 oz (85 g) chopped bittersweet chocolate into the hot pastry cream with the butter.
• Whipped cream filling: whip 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) cold heavy cream with 3 tbsp powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla to stiff peaks.
• Pumpkin spice cream: for fall, whisk 1/2 cup (120 g) pumpkin puree and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice into the cold pastry cream.
• Ice cream puffs: split the puffs and fill them with small scoops of vanilla ice cream, then top with hot fudge.

Make ahead

The pastry cream keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator with plastic wrap pressed on the surface. The baked, unfilled shells keep 1 day in an airtight container at room temperature or up to 1 month in the freezer. Recrisp them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 to 8 minutes (10 minutes from frozen), let them cool, then fill.

Storage and reheating

Filled cream puffs are best the day they are made. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container up to 1 day; the shells will soften but still taste great. Serve them cold, without reheating. Do not freeze filled puffs, because the pastry cream weeps when thawed.