These homemade cream puffs are a tried-and-true recipe for the classic, elegant dessert. It’s easier to make cream puffs at home than you would think!
When I have to bring treats somewhere, my favorite treats to bring are the ones that look really hard to make, but aren’t.
I got this recipe from my friend, Kathy. She brought them to a party once and everyone was raving. Now I am the one bringing them to parties and people will say to me, “Wow! You made cream puffs? From scratch?!” And I just smile and say, “Yep!” They think I have much more kitchen skill than I actually do, because these treats really are not hard to make! Thanks for teaching me the ways, Kathy!
There are three parts to this recipe: the cream puff shell, the filling and the chocolate topping. You need to follow the shell dough recipe precisely, but the filling and chocolate topping can be changed up to suit your personal preference. If you don’t want to make whipped cream from scratch, try vanilla pudding and whipped topping. Add sprinkles. Add a white chocolate drizzle. Try a fruity cream filling. This is the part where you can get creative!
To fill the cream puffs, you will need a piping bag with a plain circle open tip on the end. You simply insert the tip into the baked dough, gently squeeze, and every little hollow spot inside the shell will fill with delicious cream.
The dough is pretty thick, so I found it easiest to use two spoons. I scooped the dough out of the bowl with one spoon, then used the second spoon to scrape the dough off the spoon and onto the baking sheet, then gently swirled the dough to form a ball.
I brought these to a baby shower, so I added pink food coloring to the filling and drizzled them with pink chocolate just to make them a little more festive and girly.
Homemade Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Cream Puffs
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
- 4 large eggs
Filling
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Chocolate Topping
- 2 cups chocolate chips (about 1 bag)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Instructions
For the Cream Puffs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each egg. Drop dough by the tablespoon (I made 20) onto a greased baking sheet. Use a second spoon to scrape the dough off. Swirl into a ball shape.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Watch them closely near the end. Remove to cooling rack and cool completely.
For the Filling
- Beat whipping cream until stiff, then sweeten to taste (I usually add 4-6 teaspoons). Set aside.
- Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and keep beating. Add sugar, a little at a time. Fold in whipped cream.
- Spoon filling into a pastry bag with a long tip. Poke the tip into a hollow spot in each cream puff and squeeze the filling in. I like a lot of filling, so I fill it until all the hollow places are full of cream.
For the Chocolate Topping
- Place the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Keep going until the chips start to melt, then remove from the microwave and keep stirring until smooth.
- Spread a spoonful of chocolate on top of each cream puff and smooth it out until it looks pretty.
- Refrigerate completed cream puffs until just before serving. This recipe makes approximately 20 cream puffs.
Did You Make This?
Share it with me on Instagram @thecraftpatch and follow pinterest for more!
Reader Interactions
Let’s Get Social
I’m sharing tons of fun ideas on my social channels and I’d love for you to join me there.
Comments & Reviews
These look great!