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

FAQs

What is the secret to puff pastry? ›

Always preheat your oven for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before baking, because Puff Pastry depends on even heat to rise and puff. Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.

I have done it both ways and milk gives a flavor boost and helps with that nice golden brown color. Water is the classic though and there is nothing wrong with water or milk&water combination.

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.

The first is that you may not have cooked out the moisture enough. Make sure you give it a full 2 minutes on the stove. The second is that there is no way for the steam to escape when the puffs are baked. To avoid this I poke a hole in the side of each puff with a knife as soon as they come out to let the steam out.

Egg wash is the most reliable but it can be very thick and sticky. Milk wash will go on more evenly but it can soak into pastry and make it weaker. Melted butter works nicely after the crust has set but it can make the crust greasy and weaker.

Adding an acid, the theory goes, stops the gluten in its tracks and rescues the crust from toughness. These same acid enthusiasts claim that stopping or at least hindering the gluten makes the dough easier to roll out, and may even prevent it from shrinking as it bakes.

Once your choux have puffed and have become golden brown, they are ready to use!

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.

For the liquid, you can use water or milk or a combination of both. We choose the combination of both because this way you get a nice color and tender bite, but the extra water also allows for baking at a slightly higher temperature.

Without the right consistency, they either won't rise or they won't set. Dough that's too dry won't have the steam power to lift the cream puffs, and they won't form a hollow center. Dough that's too wet won't be able to harden in time to hold that puffed shape.

What is the best flour for choux pastry? ›

The Flour: Choux can be made with a range of wheat flour types. Some cooks prefer low-protein cake or pastry flour for the delicate choux puffs they can create, while others swear by high-protein bread flour for the sturdier choux it produces.

Do the cream puffs needs to be refrigerated? Yes they do. They can stay out for about 4 hours but then need to be refrigerated.

If your batter ended up being too runny, possibly you have added a little too much eggs. To fix this, cook a paste using roughly half the choux recipe (water, milk, flour, butter similar to how you started). Hold the piping bag in an angle. One hand to squeeze and the other hand to guide and control the movement.

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.

The five faults listed are: mixtures being too soft, pastry not rising and having a solid texture after baking, sinking after removal from the oven, pastry being too thin, and pastry being too thick.

Temperature is a key factor in baking up puff pasty that actually puffs. Set the oven dial too low, and the pastry is likely to fall flat. Follow this tip: As a rule of thumb, a higher oven temperature (400°F is ideal) results in puff pastry with a higher rise.

Your puff pastry may fail to puff for several reasons. Warm pastry: Your pastry should be cold, cold, cold going into the oven. It's worth reiterating: Cold butter equals flaky layers. If your pastry is warm, the butter can easily leech right out during baking.

Always cut Puff Pastry straight down, never on an angle, to prevent layers from sticking together and inhibiting the rise. Cut up and down, and don't drag the knife. You can brush an egg-wash glaze (1 egg plus 1 tsp. water) over the Puff Pastry to create a rich, golden sheen when baked.

Cold butter — To get the distinct, crispy layers in your pastry, the butter must be cold. When the bits of butter melt in the oven as the pastry bakes, it leaves you with air pockets, making the dough airy and flakey.