Easy 20 Minute Cream Puff Recipe - Sizzling Eats (2024)

FAQs

Why is my cream puff not crispy? ›

The puffs can be soft for the same reasons they can collapse, i.e. too much humidity. To make sure this does not happen to you be sure to dry the dough enough until it detaches from the pan after you added the flour, and bake them until golden brown.

Yes they do. They can stay out for about 4 hours but then need to be refrigerated. How long will the cream puffs be good for? We usually recommend consuming the cream puffs the same or next day, after 2 days they will start to become soggy, especially if your refrigerator has a lot of humidity in it.

There are multiple reasons why cream puffs may deflate. The first cause is undercooking. When preparing dough on the stovetop, be sure to keep cooking and stirring until a film forms on the bottom of the saucepan. Another cause of flat cream puffs is lowering the temperature during baking.

Storing choux pastry / cream puffs for longer

The best way to store choux pastry is to freeze baked and UNFILLED cases in an air-tight container. When you're ready to fill them, reheat the cases in the oven to make them crisp again. Once cooled, they can be filled and served.

Troubleshooting Cream Puffs and other Pastries

There's still steam inside, and when you let it all escape before the pastry has cooled your dough might deflate. Boiled the water, butter, and sugar for too long. If there is too little water in your choux, there won't be enough steam to help the puffs inflate.

Why do my cream puffs flatten? You're probably putting too many eggs into the dough. Sometimes recipes call for 3 or 4 eggs, but don't specify medium, large or extra large. Good choux paste is a matter of texture, and you just need to practice until you know the proper thickness from experience.

Do unfilled cream puffs need to be refrigerated? No - they should be kept in an airtight container. Once filled, (with cream) they need to be kept in the the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. If kept, filled, in the fridge, they will go soft.

If your cream puffs are moist inside after baking, this is because they did not bake long enough. In addition, the puffs need to dry out on the inside after baking. To help the pâte à choux dry out properly, turn the cream puffs upside down and use a toothpick to poke a hole in each one.

Store the puffs in an airtight container for up to 2 days and re-crisp them in a low oven for 5 minutes on the day you intend to use them (let them cool before filling). For the filling we suggest you use a creme patissiere rather than just whipped cream.

Potential reasons for each fault include insufficient cooling, eggs added too quickly, not beating the mixture enough, incorrect baking temperature or time, insufficient baking, and allowing the liquid to cool too much before adding flour.

Why do my cream puffs taste eggy? ›

Some important things to take note of:

Cook the flour mixture until a thin film of residue forms on the bottom of the pot. [Step 4 of recipe] Allow pastry to cool before adding eggs in. If pastry is too hot, it may cook the eggs, thus giving your cream puffs an eggy taste.

Cream puffs bigger than one's palm are not unusual these days. Profiteroles, though also round, tend to be slightly smaller (and daintier) as well as more uniform in size. They're designed to hold just the right amount of ice cream or other filling without becoming unwieldy.

Choux Pastry can be used in anything from cream puffs, profiteroles, and eclairs to churros, croquembouche, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, and gougères! It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and the options for filling and shaping are endless.

In fact, if you don't use enough eggs the dough will remain heavy and gluey. You should add as many eggs to your dough as possible! Make these (amazing) cream puffs and picture the lakes of Minnesota when you do.

The verdict: While separating the cream puff into two open faced halves seems to be the cleanest, most popular way to consume the pastry, really just do what you want. After all, what's a good meal without a good mess? And as for our Bubbler Talk question asker Beth, she eats her cream puff in two pieces.

To revive them, place the puffs on a sheet tray and toast in a 350°F oven for 5-15 minutes depending on the size of the pastry shell. Fill and prepare as if they were freshly baked (they'll taste like they were).

Soggy bottoms

This normally happens when the oven is not hot enough or the pastry is not baked for long enough. However, it can also be because too much water was added to the dough.