Mini Cream Puffs

Channel your French baking skills, and whip up a batch of these mini cream puffs made from classic choux pastry. Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is made from simple ingredients like butter, water, flour, salt and eggs. Its crispy exterior and airy, hollow interior make it perfect for filling with whipped cream, ice cream or pastry cream.

For these mini cream puffs, we use an easy vanilla filling made with pudding mix so you can focus on perfecting your choux skills. But of course, if you want to make homemade pastry cream, we love the sound (and taste) of that!

Perfect for any gathering or occasion, these mini cream puffs are sure to impress. If making homemade cream puffs sounds intimidating, don’t worry. It’s quite simple to learn how to make choux pastry at home. Once you master the art of choux pastry, you’ll be well on your way to making mini cream puffs, eclairs or even this dreamy cream puff dessert, one of our very best desserts.

Ingredients for Mini Cream Puffs

• Butter: Butter adds flavor to the pastry shells. We prefer unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter on hand, simply omit the salt in the recipe. Use the best butter because it’s vital to a great-tasting choux pastry.
• Flour: All-purpose flour gives the mini cream puff shells structure. For best results, be sure to measure your flour the right way.
• Salt: A touch of salt adds flavor and balance to the pastry.
• Eggs: Eggs provide a rich flavor to the pastry shells and help the choux pastry puff and hold its shape in the oven. Remember: It’s always best to bake with room-temperature eggs.
• Instant pudding mix: We love using instant pudding mix as the base of our vanilla filling because it is easy and delicious. Be sure to grab a box of instant pudding mix at the grocery store, not pudding that needs cooking on the stovetop. Buy extra for other boxed vanilla pudding recipes.
• Milk: Milk helps the pudding mix thicken. We use 2% milk, but feel free to use whole milk for an ultra-decadent filling.
• Frozen whipped topping: When folded into the thickened pudding mix, whipped topping lightens the filling and gives it a smooth, velvety texture. Don’t forget to allow the frozen whipped topping to thaw beforehand.
• Confectioners’ sugar: A light dusting of powdered sugar adds a pretty (and sweet) touch to the filled mini cream puffs.

Directions

Step 1: Start the choux

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small saucepan, bring the water and butter to a rolling boil over medium heat. Add the flour and salt all at once; beat until blended. Cook, stirring vigorously, until a film forms at the bottom of the pan, about four minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Vigorously stirring the pastry dough over medium heat cooks the flour and helps the dough dry out a bit. When stirring, we recommend using a wooden spoon. Stir quickly and vigorously—beating the dough up against the sides of the pan—until the dough is smooth and comes together in a large ball.

Step 2: Cool the pastry dough

Remove the pastry dough from the heat, and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Removing the dough from the heat allows it to cool before adding the eggs (we don’t want scrambled eggs in our choux pastry!). To ensure the dough cools effectively, transfer the dough to a separate bowl (ideally, whichever bowl you use when adding the eggs).

Step 3: Add the eggs

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

Editor’s Tip: Adding the right amount of egg is crucial. Choux pastry dough should look shiny and glossy. When scooped with a wooden spoon and held over the bowl, it should fall off the spoon in a “plop” with residual dough hanging in a V shape. Our recipe calls for two eggs; however, if your dough doesn’t pass these tests, you may need to add more. To do this, lightly beat one egg in a small glass measuring cup. Drizzle the beaten egg into the dough 1 teaspoon at a time, beating well after each addition until it reaches the correct consistency.

Step 4: Put the choux on a baking sheet

Drop the dough into 1-inch balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1-1/2 inches apart.

Editor’s Tip: For consistent sizing and even baking, pipe the pastry dough using a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip, or use a large zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. If your pastry dough has little “tips” sticking up, use a dampened finger to tap them down lightly.

Step 5: Bake

Bake until puffed, very firm and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Editor’s Tip: Once the cream puff shells are out of the oven, use a paring knife to cut a small slit in the bottom of each shell. This allows steam to escape and prevents the shells from getting soggy.

Step 6: Make the vanilla filling

While the mini cream puff shells cool, whisk the pudding mix and milk for two minutes or until thickened. Let stand for five minutes. Fold in the whipped topping. Cut the puffs in half. Fill the cream puffs with the vanilla filling; replace the tops. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, and serve immediately.

Taste Recipes

Mini Cream Puff Variations

• Try a decadent topping: Top your mini cream puffs with chocolate ganache, a delicious salted caramel sauce or a quick vanilla glaze.
• Get creative with fillings: Fill your mini cream puffs with homemade whipped cream or a dollop of jam, or add fresh fruit like these strawberry cream puffs.
• Make profiteroles: Sandwich a scoop of ice cream between the puff shells for a fancy frozen treat, like these spiced pumpkin ice cream puffs.
• Try eclairs instead: Use your choux pastry dough to make indulgent chocolate eclairs, hazelnut mocha eclairs, or our contest-winning chocolate-glazed raspberry eclairs.

How to Store Mini Cream Puffs

Enjoy your mini cream puffs within a few hours of filling (otherwise, they tend to get soggy). If you have leftovers, store the filled cream puffs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Unfilled cream puff shells can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for one day before filling and serving.

Can you freeze mini cream puffs?

While we don’t recommend freezing the filled cream puff shells, the unfilled pastries keep very well in the freezer and offer a great make-ahead option. To freeze the mini cream puff shells, allow them to cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and storing them in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before filling. If the shells feel a bit soggy, pop them in a warm 200° oven to dry out.

Mini Cream Puff Tips

Taste Recipes

How do you make homemade pastry cream for mini cream puffs?

Pastry cream is made from a few simple ingredients on the stovetop. While it requires a little skill and know-how, learning how to make pastry cream is definitely doable and an absolute “must” in French cuisine. The basic recipe starts by whisking sugar, cornstarch and milk in a saucepan. Cook that over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Then temper the eggs, and add them to the mixture, then whisk, whisk, whisk. Once thickened, add the butter, and combine until it’s nice and smooth, then cover and refrigerate.

Can I make these into larger cream puffs?

Yes! To make larger cream puffs, simply pipe the pastry dough into 2-inch rounds, spacing them about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. They will likely need to stay in the oven a few minutes longer, so watch for cues for doneness.