Read time 4-5 min

Easily Make Cream Puffs That Don't Collapse

We delve into the secrets of pastry art as we explore how to make choux and cream puff dough. With Ztove's temperature control, you can easily make cream puffs at the perfect temperature.

Choux and Cream Puffs

Choux is the French name for cream puffs, and these classic airy pastries originally come from France. Choux dough is used for a wide range of popular pastries like éclairs, profiteroles, and Shrovetide buns.

The special thing about cream puffs is that they rise during baking and form a hollow interior with a crispy exterior. This makes them perfect for both sweet and savory fillings.

Choux Dough Image

How to Make Choux and Cream Puff Dough?

Choux dough differs from most other doughs because it is first cooked in a pot on the stove before being baked in the oven. The dough consists of water, butter, flour, and eggs.

First, water and butter are heated to about 110 ºC over low heat. Then the flour is stirred in, and the dough is thoroughly heated while stirring constantly. This helps develop the gluten network and evaporate excess moisture, so the cream puffs rise correctly and don't crack or collapse during baking.

Once the dough is hot enough, it should cool down a bit to around 60 ºC. Then the eggs are added gradually while whisking until the dough becomes smooth, shiny, and uniform.

The finished dough should be soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold its shape. It can then be baked in the oven or deep-fried, depending on the type of pastry you want to make.

What Pastries Are Made with Choux Dough?

There are many classic pastries and desserts made with choux dough. They are used both in French patisserie and in traditional Danish pastries.

Cream puffs filled with cream, whipped cream, mousse, or jam
Walesstang with cream, whipped cream, and berries
Churros and Spanish fritters deep-fried in oil
Éclairs with icing or ganache
Croquembouche made of small caramel-dipped cream puffs
Profiteroles with cream and chocolate sauce
Choux au craquelin with a crispy cookie dough on top
Marieboller with shortcrust pastry and vanilla cream
Cake men and cake women made of cream puff dough
French crullers deep-fried like donuts
Gougères with cheese as a savory snack or side dish
Savory cream puffs filled with fish, mousse, or salads

Choux dough is incredibly versatile, and the possibilities for variations are almost endless.

What Is a Shrovetide Bun Made Of?

Shrovetide buns come in many different versions, but one of the most classic types is made with cream puff dough.

The dough is piped out as large buns, which are filled with vanilla cream, whipped cream, and jam after baking. They can either be cut open or filled with a piping bag. Finally, they are often decorated with icing or powdered sugar.

Cream puffs provide a light and airy Shrovetide bun with a crispy exterior and plenty of space for filling.

The Best Filling for Cream Puffs and Shrovetide Buns

You can fill cream puffs with almost anything. Sweet fillings like vanilla cream, chocolate mousse, and raspberry mousse are popular choices, but they also work well with savory fillings like chicken salad or salmon mousse.

A classic vanilla cream is still a favorite. When you make pastry cream with temperature control from Ztove, it becomes easier to avoid the cream sticking to the pot.

Pastry cream with cornstarch needs to boil to avoid a floury taste and ensure the right consistency. We recommend cooking pastry cream at about 103 ºC and stirring well throughout.

If you want an extra airy cream, you can make pastry cream by folding whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream. This makes a perfect filling for Shrovetide buns, layer cakes, and tarts.

Notes

It is important to thoroughly heat the choux dough on the stove before adding the eggs. This helps the dough rise correctly during baking.

Avoid opening the oven too early during baking, as the cream puffs can collapse if the temperature changes too quickly.

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Bonus Knowledge About Cream Puffs

We have gathered all the knowledge we have about cream puffs and choux dough here, so if you have a question, take a look and see if we might have an answer for it.

What are cream puffs?

Cream puffs are a type of pastry where the dough is made as a roux of water, butter, flour, salt, and sugar, after which eggs are added.

The dough is piped out and baked in the oven, where the pastries rise and become hollow with a crispy exterior.

Filling in cream puffs

Cream puffs are often filled with pastry cream, jam, whipped cream, or some form of mousse.

Can you make gluten-free cream puffs?

Yes, you can certainly make gluten-free cream puffs. The process is exactly the same as for regular cream puffs.

The only difference is that you need to use slightly less gluten-free flour than the amount of wheat flour used in the classic recipe.

Recipe for gluten-free cream puffs

You can find our recipe for gluten-free cream puffs right here.

What is choux au craquelin?

A choux au craquelin is a cream puff where a layer of cookie dough is placed on top before baking.

During baking, the cookie dough cracks while the cream puff dough expands, giving a crispy and decorative surface.

The special thing about craquelin

The cookie dough forms a crispy top, which gives the cream puff both extra texture and a more uniform appearance.

The result is an elegant cream puff with a decorative and patisserie-like expression.

The cookie dough can also be colored with edible colors to make the cream puffs even more festive and inviting.

How do you store cream puffs?

If you want to save your cream puffs for the next day, you should wait to fill them.

The moisture from the filling can make the cream puffs soggy and less crispy.

Best storage

Cream puffs are best the day they are baked, where they have their crispy exterior and light structure.

If you save them for the next day, they can be briefly warmed in the oven to restore some of the crispiness.

Let them cool completely again before filling them with cream, whipped cream, or other fillings.

Can you freeze cream puffs?

Yes, you can freeze baked cream puffs as long as they are not filled with cream or other fillings.

It is important to freeze them without filling to maintain the best texture and crispiness.

Here's how

Let the cream puffs cool completely before freezing them.

When you need them, let them thaw at room temperature.

Then they can be briefly warmed in the oven for 1-2 minutes to restore crispiness.

Let them cool completely again before filling them with cream, whipped cream, or other fillings.

Why do cream puffs collapse?

One of the most common reasons cream puffs collapse is if you open the oven too early during baking.

When cold air enters the oven before the exterior has had a chance to set, the cream puffs can lose their structure and collapse.

How to avoid it

Always wait to open the oven until you are sure the cream puffs are fully baked and have a firm and crispy exterior.

The stable heat in the oven is crucial for the steam in the dough to make the cream puffs rise correctly.

What is the difference between choux dough and cream puff dough?

There is no difference between choux dough and cream puff dough. It is the same dough.

Choux is simply the French name for cream puffs, while cream puff dough is the Danish term.

Same dough – different names

Choux dough and cream puff dough consist of the same ingredients and are made with the same method.

The dough is first heated on the stove and then eggs are added before it is baked in the oven, where it rises and becomes hollow inside.

What kinds of Shrovetide buns are there?

There are many different types of Shrovetide buns, and new variations are constantly emerging. Here are some of the most classic ones.

Classic Shrovetide buns

Old-fashioned Shrovetide buns - Made with yeast dough, filled with pastry cream, remonce, jam, chocolate, or a combination and decorated with icing.
Pastry Shrovetide buns - Made with classic pastry dough with jam or pastry cream on top and decorated with icing along the edge. They resemble the classic pastry, spandauer.
Cream Shrovetide buns - Pastry bun split and filled with pastry cream, jam, and whipped cream or various mousses like nougat mousse, raspberry mousse, and strawberry mousse.
Cream puff Shrovetide buns - Made with cream puff dough and filled with pastry cream, jam, whipped cream, or mousse.
Swedish semlor - Airy yeast buns with cardamom, filled with marzipan remonce and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar.

What is in a Shrovetide bun?

Filling in Shrovetide buns

The filling in a Shrovetide bun depends on the type, but there are many classic and popular variants.

The most common fillings combine sweetness, freshness, and creamy texture to create the perfect Shrovetide bun.

Classic fillings

The classic fillings in Shrovetide buns include jams like raspberry, strawberry, and prune.

Additionally, pastry cream, whipped cream, and remonce are often used as basic fillings.

More modern variants also contain mousses like strawberry mousse, raspberry mousse, nougat mousse, chocolate mousse, caramel mousse, and blueberry mousse.