Mom’s Cream Puff or Eclair Recipe

The dough can be a little intimidating, but rest assured, the easy instructions we’ve provided step-by-step will be the only Pâte à choux, or choux pastry puff recipe you’ll ever need.

This same dough can be used for log-shaped eclairs, which is our pastry dough baked and filled with vanilla custard and then drizzled on top with melted chocolate.

While well known in French bakery shops, here in America, you will find these puffs with many kinds of fillings, from sweet to savory.

Savory fillings are perfect for brunch, events, and hosting a dinner party as delicious-filled finger foods, so don’t miss our recipe suggestions below.

This one pastry dough will be all you need to entertain guests for an elegant dessert table or an assortment of filled appetizers.

This versatile, delicate French pastry dough is also one of the easiest to make and can be made in various shapes and sizes.

We included the recipe for making the Perfect Whipped Cream and the most Perfect Vanilla Custard to fill your cream puffs or eclairs, plus many Savory Filling ideas for that perfect, impressive before-dinner appetizer.

Just scroll down and print off the recipe card for all our fabulous ways to use cream puff dough from sweet to savory ideas!

What Can You Make With Cream Puff Dough?

• Sweet Treats: Cream puffs: Round pastries filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or ice cream.
• Éclairs: Long pastries filled with cream and topped with chocolate glaze.Profiteroles: Small cream puffs stacked high and covered in warm chocolate sauce
• Paris-Brest: A ring-shaped pastry filled with praline-flavored cream and topped with sliced almonds
• Croquembouche: A tall tower of cream puffs held together with hard caramel sugar
• Savory Treats: Gougères: Baked cheesy puffs mixed with Gruyère or Cheddar cheese.Cheese puffs: Small savory bites mixed with herbs and spices
• Appetizer puffs: Choux pastry stuffed with chicken salad, tuna, or warm cheese dips.

Shaping the Dough Tips

1. using a cookie press, you can shape it into logs or puffs with a swirled design
2. also, a filled pastry bag with a large star pastry tip
3. for large rounds, drop by tablespoons 
4. for small appetizer puffs, use a teaspoon
5. logs for eclairs can be shaped with a tablespoon as well, but will look more professional using the cookie press or pastry bag with an extra-large star tip

Trouble Shoot and Issues with Cream Puff Dough

1. Why Your Cream Puff Lines Disappeared: Excess Liquid: Too much egg or water thinned the batter
2. Weak Structure: Over-mixing after adding eggs breaks down the gluten.
3. Low Initial Heat: The oven was not hot enough.
4. Trapped Steam: High moisture flattened the piped details early.Warm Dough: Piping warm dough makes it spread.
5. How to Fix It Next Time: 
6. Dry the Paste: Cook the flour mixture for a longer period on the stove. Add Eggs Slowly: Whisk eggs together first. Add them in small splashes.
7. Check the Texture: Stop adding egg when the dough forms a “V” on your spatula.
8. Blast the Heat: Start baking at 425°F (218°C) to set the shape. Chill the Dough: Let the piped shapes cool before baking.  
9. Flat or No Rise: Batter is too wet / too many eggs added. Cook the initial flour paste longer on the stove. Whisk eggs in a bowl first and add them gradually. Stop adding egg when the batter forms a hanging V-shape off your spatula. Buy a good brand of butter! If the butter has too much water content, that can also be the culprit!
10. Puffed, then Collapsed: Underbaked or oven door opened too early. Do not open the oven door for the first 25 minutes. Bake until deep golden brown and completely firm. Poke a small hole in each cooked shell immediately to release trapped steam.
11. Soggy Shells: Trapped internal moisture. After poking a hole in the cooked shells, return them to the turned-off oven for 5–10 minutes to dry out entirely.
12. Cracked Top / Misshapen Oven:  too hot or uneven piping. Verify oven temperatures with a separate thermometer. Hold the piping bag completely straight and dip a finger in water to gently smooth down pointed tips before baking.

Savory Filling Ideas

1. Turkey breast, chopped fine to add some mayo or ranch dressing to moisten
2. Chicken chopped, adding peppercorn ranch dressing, raisins, and diced apples
3. Turkey and cranberry sauce
4. Pulled pork
5. Peanut butter and jelly
6. Nutella
7. Spinach Dip spread
8. Bacon, chopped tomato, and mayo
9. Egg Salad using chopped boiled eggs and mayo
10. Tuna Salad using canned tuna, mayo, and some chopped black olives
11. Ham Salad using chopped ham, chopped pineapple, and mayo
12. Cream cheese spread on the bread and add canned drained crab meat or baby shrimp
13. Tomatoes diced with Basil pesto (really festive for Holiday or Christmas!

Other Sweet Fillings

below you will find several recipes for fillings from different Regions in Italy

1. whipped cream
2. cannoli ricotta-filled
3. almond or vanilla pastry cream
4. chocolate pastry filling
5. fresh or dried fruit whipped cream filled
6. lemon filling(as time went on, bakeries expanded filling flavors

How To Store Cream Puffs

• Storing Baked Shells Overnight, Room temperature: Keep them out on the counter loosely covered with a paper bag or a lightly draped tea towel so they breathe.
• Avoid plastic or tight seals: Airtight containers trap residual moisture, ruining the crisp outer crust.
• Avoid the fridge: Cold refrigerator air causes the empty shells to absorb moisture and turn soft or rubbery.
• Reviving the crunch: Pop the stored shells into a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes before filling them the next day

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Try My Other Favorite Desserts

Original Cannoli
Cannoli Tarts
Cannoli Mousse

French Choux Pastry

Pâte à choux, or choux pastry, is a French style of pastry prepared on the stovetop.

Its ingredients are flour, water (or milk), butter, and eggs. When baked, the texture is light and crispy and can be filled.

The choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries, from sweet to savory.

It’s the perfect shell that’s hollow to be filled with your heart’s desire. From sweet cream fillings to savory sandwich fillings, we have several suggestions for you.

Mom’s pastry recipe is easy to make and perfect for using the savory fillings in hosting parties, weddings, and shower events or making beautifully filled pastry to serve guests for dessert.

Homemade cream puffs,Best cream puff recipe, Easy cream puff recipe, Homemade choux pastry, French cream puffs, Sweet cream puff fillings, Savory cream puff fillings

dessert recipes, french pastry recipes, cream puff recipes, pastry recipes, filled pastry recipes

French, Italian, American

Yield: 15

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

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Mom’s Cream Puff or Eclair Recipe

Here is the recipe to make cream puff or eclair dough plus the perfect whipped cream and vanilla custard to fill them with.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then set aside.
3. Measure 1 cup of flour, place it in another bowl, and set it aside.
4. In a heavy nonstick saucepan, pour 1 cup of water and the stick of butter (not margarine) and bring to a boil on medium heat.
5. Stir in the flour quickly to the butter and water mixture using a wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved, comes together, and is thick on the stovetop.
6. Remove from heat, add eggs, and beat very rapidly with the wooden spoon until a ball of dough is formed and everything is evenly blended.
7. Note: it’s very important to beat this fast.
8. Spoon one tablespoon of dough (or a teaspoon for small mini cream puffs) onto an ungreased cookie sheet or on parchment paper.
9. Note: This dough can be shaped into long logs for eclairs.
10. For fancier pastry puffs, use an extra-large cookie star tip and pastry bag to make a round swirl effect.
11. Bake at 400 degrees for 1/2 hour. Do not open the oven, or the puffs will not cook correctly.
12. When browned, remove from oven, cool completely,
13. Cut in half to fill.
14. Fill regular cream puffs with whipped heavy cream, sweetened.
15. If making eclairs, fill with vanilla custard and drizzle the top with melted chocolate.
16. Perfect Whipped Cream Recipe
17. 1 cup heavy cream
18. 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
19. Place a mixing bowl in the freezer for around 15 minutes.
20. Remove the bowl from the freezer.
21. Add the heavy cream to the bowl with sugar and beat on high speed using an electric mixer for 1 minute or until the cream has stiff peaks
22. Do not overbeat.
23. Perfect Vanilla Custard for Eclairs
24. 2 1/2 cups of milk
25. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
26. 4 egg yolks
27. 1/2 cup flour
28. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or another flavored extract
29. Heat the milk to a boil then let it sit for 15 minutes to cool.
30. In a bowl add the eggs and sugar and beat for 1 minute.
31. Sift the flour into the egg and sugar mixture beating and making sure no lumps remain.
32. Slowly pour in the milk. Whisk together until smooth.
33. Place back into the pan and heat until it is thickened.
34. Stir in the vanilla extract.
35. Cool and fill eclairs.
36. Option for puff pastry filling:
37. If you want to use this dough for a dinner party with a savory filling instead of dessert, fill the puffs with egg salad, tuna salad, or ham or chicken salad.

Notes

Trouble Shoot and Issues with Cream Puff Dough

1. Why Your Cream Puff Lines Disappeared: Excess Liquid: Too much egg or water thinned the batter
2. Weak Structure: Over-mixing after adding eggs breaks down the gluten.
3. Low Initial Heat: The oven was not hot enough.
4. Trapped Steam: High moisture flattened the piped details early.Warm Dough: Piping warm dough makes it spread.
5. How to Fix It Next Time: 
6. Dry the Paste: Cook the flour mixture for a longer period on the stove. Add Eggs Slowly: Whisk eggs together first. Add them in small splashes.
7. Check the Texture: Stop adding egg when the dough forms a “V” on your spatula.
8. Blast the Heat: Start baking at 425°F (218°C) to set the shape. Chill the Dough: Let the piped shapes cool before baking.  
9. Flat or No Rise: Batter is too wet / too many eggs added. Cook the initial flour paste longer on the stove. Whisk eggs in a bowl first and add them gradually. Stop adding egg when the batter forms a hanging V-shape off your spatula. Buy a good brand of butter! If the butter has too much water content, that can also be the culprit!
10. Puffed, then Collapsed: Underbaked or oven door opened too early. Do not open the oven door for the first 25 minutes. Bake until deep golden brown and completely firm. Poke a small hole in each cooked shell immediately to release trapped steam.
11. Soggy Shells: Trapped internal moisture. After poking a hole in the cooked shells, return them to the turned-off oven for 5–10 minutes to dry out entirely.
12. Cracked Top / Misshapen Oven:  too hot or uneven piping. Verify oven temperatures with a separate thermometer. Hold the piping bag completely straight and dip a finger in water to gently smooth down pointed tips before baking.

How To Store Cream Puffs

• Storing Baked Shells Overnight, Room temperature: Keep them out on the counter loosely covered with a paper bag or a lightly draped tea towel so they breathe.
• Avoid plastic or tight seals: Airtight containers trap residual moisture, ruining the crisp outer crust.
• Avoid the fridge: Cold refrigerator air causes the empty shells to absorb moisture and turn soft or rubbery.
• Reviving the crunch: Pop the stored shells into a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes before filling them the next day

Savory Filling Ideas

1. Turkey breast chopped fine to add some mayo or ranch dressing to moisten
2. Chicken chopped adding peppercorn ranch dressing, raisins, diced apples
3. Turkey and cranberry sauce
4. Pulled pork
5. Peanut butter and jelly
6. Nutella
7. Spinach Dip spread
8. Bacon chopped tomato and mayo
9. Egg Salad using chopped boiled eggs and mayo
10. Tuna Salad using canned tuna, mayo, and some chopped black olives
11. Ham Salad using chopped ham, chopped pineapple, and mayo
12. Cream cheese spread on the bread and add canned drained crab meat or baby shrimp
13. Tomatoes diced with Basil pesto (really festive for Holiday or Christmas!

Other Sweet Fillings

below you will find several recipes for fillings from different Regions in Italy

1. whipped cream
2. cannoli ricotta-filled
3. almond or vanilla pastry cream
4. chocolate pastry filling
5. fresh or dried fruit whipped cream filled
6. lemon filling or curd

Nutrition Facts

Sodium (milligrams)

66.06 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

59.85 mg

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2009/06/margaret-ann-fanellis-cream-puffs.html

These are all copyright-protected images and content. Do not reprint/reuse this recipe or its images without my written permission.

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