menu icon
search icon

The Perfect Cream Puffs (Profiteroles)

picture of zoha
Modified: · Published: by · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

These are *the* cream puffs (aka choux buns or profiteroles) that got me rave reviews from Gordon Ramsay on Next Level Baker! They are made with classic choux pastry shells that puff up beautifully with hollow centers, topped with a crispy craquelin crust, and filled generously with a silky, light cheesecake whipped cream. These cream puffs are perfect to serve large groups (this recipe makes 50!), versatile as you can easily switch up the filling, and, once you understand the basics, I'd even call them simple!

Cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar are arranged on a cooling rack. One cream puff is cut open, revealing a smooth, white cream filling inside.

In this recipe, I will walk you through every step of the process, from achieving the right choux pastry consistency to baking and filling, so you can master this easy but technical French dessert. And, if you enjoy chocolate, you might also enjoy the recipe for my foolproof chocolate eclairs with a chocolate cream filling!

Jump to:

I made these for Gordon Ramsay

I recently competed in Gordon Ramsay's first ever baking competition show, Next Level Baker, and made these cream puffs in the 90 minute Tropical challenge. While I had practiced choux pastry ahead of the show,I still found it intimidating. To my disbelief, the judges gave rave reviews, with Chef Ramsay calling them "incredible", "exceptional", "exotic" and "absolutely perfect"! Yes, I'm still pinching myself.

YouTube video
Cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar are arranged on a wire cooling rack. Two puffs are cut open, revealing a creamy filling inside. A gingerbread cookie is visible in the top left corner.

Video tutorial

First up, here's an in depth video tutorial for this recipe that will help you understand everything better:

3 components of these cream puffs

These cream puffs (profiteroles) are made with 3 simple components:

  1. Choux pastry shells. Choux pastry is a thick batter like pastry that is piped into small rounds and baked. During the process of baking, the moisture in the pastry evaporates and creates steam, which causes the pastry to rise and create hollow shells. It is quite technical, though, so more details on perfecting it below!
  2. Craquelin discs. Craquelin is a simple biscuit made of butter, sugar and flour. It has a crumbly texture similar to pie dough, and is rolled into a thin sheet, chilled, and cut into discs that go on top of each choux dollop. It melts onto the choux buns as they bake, helps them rise more evenly, and creates a delicious crispy crust. Although optional, I highly recommend adding it to elevate your cream puffs!
  3. Cheesecake whipped cream filling. Each cream puff is filled with a simple whipped cream that has cream cheese in it! The cream cheese adds a cheesecake like flavor and also stabilizes the whipped cream
Six round cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar rest on a cooling rack, with one puff centered and bitten into, revealing its creamy filling. The background surface is light beige.

Perfecting choux pastry

It's all about the egg!

Choux pastry is notorious for being tricky, and rightfully so. After a lot of experimentation, I have found that perfecting choux pastry mostly comes down to the amount of egg mixed into it at the end. If you don't add enough, it doesn't rise and ends up dense. If you add too much, it rises too much and deflates.

Based on different factors, such as the size of your eggs and how much you dry out the mixture on the stove, the exact amount of eggs can vary every time, and come down to fractions. The key is to break down the eggs separately, and add them to the choux pastry a little at a time, whisking thoroughly between each addition and checking the consistency. As soon as the choux pastry reaches the desired consistency, you stop adding more egg.

A close-up of several round, golden-brown cream puffs topped with powdered sugar, arranged on a cooling rack.

What is the right consistency for choux pastry?

Choux pastry should be smooth and shiny, and when you lift the mixture using a spatula, it should fall off slowly but in a continuous ribbon that eventually breaks off and leaves behind a tapered, smooth V shape. Let's take a look together.

Here is choux pastry that is NOT ready:

A hand holding an orange spatula with thick, choux pastry above a glass mixing bowl attached to an electric stand mixer on a kitchen counter.Pastry has fallen off leaving a craggly shape behind

This choux pastry falls off the spatula in a clump, leaving behind a rough shape. This needs more egg.

A hand holding a spatula with thick, choux pastry over a glass mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer, sitting on a wooden countertop. The bowl contains more batter, and kitchen items are visible in the background. The choux pastry has fallen off the spatula leaving behind a rough v shape

This choux pastry has started looking shiny and smooth, and leaves behind a V shape when it falls off the spatula. However, it stills breaks off instead of forming a ribbon, and the V shape isn't smooth and tapered. This needs just a little more egg.

Here's choux pastry that IS ready:

A hand lifts a thick, smooth, choux pastry from a glass mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer. The batter stretches as it is lifted, showing its glossy texture. The kitchen counter is messy with baking tools in the background.

The choux pastry is now very smooth and shiny. When you lift the spatula, the pastry falls off in a slow but steady ribbon instead of breaking off.

A hand holding a spatula with choux pastry over a glass mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer on a wooden countertop. The creamy batter drips from the spatula back into the bowl. The choux pastry has fallen off the spatula leaving behind a smooth, tapered V shape

The ribbon eventually tapers off, leaving behind a smooth V shape.

To further demonstrate the importance of the amount of egg, see the image below. The choux pastry on the left was forming a V on the spatula, but it wasn't smooth and the pastry was not falling off in a ribbon. Less than half of an egg helped get it to the right consistency, which is on the right. The difference in how much the cream puffs rose is crazy!

Two images: the top shows two dollops of choux pastry labeled Not enough egg and Just enough egg. The bottom shows the resulting baked profiteroles, with the one labeled Just enough egg appearing larger and more golden.

3 helpful tips

Here are 3 more tips for you:

  1. When checking for the consistency, check multiple times with a spatula. Sometimes it takes a few tries to figure out if the pastry is falling off in a ribbon yet or not.
  2. Be careful to not add too much egg. The pastry shouldn't be runny, or falling off the spatula too quickly, and should still be thick enough to hold shape (see image above!)
  3. If you're not sure whether you've added enough egg, pipe one choux bun and bake it as a test. If it is dense and doesn't rise, you need more egg. The rest of the choux pastry can rest, covered, while you bake the test bun!

Step by step photos

Let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this cream puff recipe:

A glass bowl on a wooden surface contains crumbly, craquelin dough, with some dough pressed together in the center.

For the craquelin, whisk the butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Then add the flour and whisk until a crumbly mixture forms (similar to pie dough!)

A large, rolled sheet of crauqelin rests on a silicone baking mat.

Place the mixture on parchment or a silicone mat, cover with parchment and roll out into a thin sheet (~¼" thick). Place in the freezer.

A red whisk stirring together a mixture of wet ingredients for choux dough in a stainless steel pot on a stove.

For the choux pastry, start by adding all ingredients except the flour and eggs to a saucepan. Cook and stir until the mixture starts to boil.

A saucepan on a stove contains melted butter with a mound of flour on top, starting to be mixed together for a roux.

Remove from heat and add the flour. Use a wooden spatula to mix in the flour and break any lumps, until the mixture turns into a smooth dough ball.

A ball of choux pastry dough sits in a metal saucepan on a stove, with a wooden spoon resting beside it.

Return to heat on low flame, and keep cooking and mixing for 2 minutes. This step helps strengthen gluten and reduce moisture in the dough. Remove from heat and cool down for 5 minutes.

A close-up of a stand mixer blending choux pastry in a glass bowl while a person pours beaten eggs from a white bowl into the mixture. The mixer sits on a wooden counter in a kitchen.

Break and whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, and transfer the choux pastry to the bowl of your stand mixer. Start adding the eggs a little at a time, whisking for 20-30s between each addition.

Thick yellow choux pastry in a glass bowl with a red spatula.

Only add enough eggs to achieve the right consistency of choux pastry, then stop. You will likely have a little egg leftover. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip.

Circular craquelin shapes cut out on a rolled sheet of craquelin, arranged closely together on a silicone baking mat, with some dough scraps remaining around the edges.

Use the back of a piping tip that's ~1.5" to cut the craquelin into 1.5" discs.

A baking tray lined with parchment paper holds rows of piped choux pastry buns topped with craquelin circles, evenly spaced and ready to be baked. The tray is placed on a countertop.

Pipe the choux pastry into 1.5" dollops, and cover each dollop with a craquelin disc. Bake until golden brown.

Golden brown choux pastry shells with small holes in the center are arranged in neat rows on parchment paper atop baking trays, casting soft, round shadows from the overhead light.

As soon as the cream puffs come out of the oven, use a Bismark piping tip to make holes on the bottom. This helps release steam so the pastry does not become soggy.

Once cool, fill each choux bun generously with the cheesecake whipped cream, dust with powdered sugar, and serve!

A cooling rack filled with round cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar. In the background, there are festive decorations, including a gingerbread figurine and a small Christmas tree.

A few more tips before you make them

  1. PLEASE weigh your ingredients. Especially flour! It's so easy to add too much when using a measuring cup, which can easily ruin the choux pastry
  2. For consistent sizing, use a pencil and a piping tip to make 1.5" circles on parchment paper
  3. Make sure to leave ample room between circle, as the cream puffs more than double in size, and overcrowding can cause them to rise unevenly or even deflate. I typically use 3 large baking sheets (13x18") with 18-20 choux buns on one sheet
  4. Don't pipe them too big! You should stay within the 1.5" diameter markings. Piping choux buns too big weakens their structure, causing them to deflate after baking
  5. You can bake choux pastry in batches. Choux pastry stays fine when left out as long as it's covered or in a piping bag, so you can bake it in batches
  6. Keep an eye on the bake. Bake until a deep golden brown color to ensure the shells are crispy and dried out inside
  7. Fill generously! Nothing sucks more than a half filled cream puff. You want to pipe until you feel resistance, or the cream starts pushing back
A wire rack holds round cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar; one is cut open to reveal a rich, creamy filling inside.
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Cream puffs topped with powdered sugar are arranged on a cooling rack. One cream puff is cut in half, revealing a generous, creamy white filling inside.

The PERFECT Cream Puffs (Profiteroles) Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Zoha
  • Total Time: 90 minutes + cooling
  • Yield: 50 cream puffs
Print Recipe

Description

Light choux pastry shells with a crispy craquelin crust filled generosuly with a delicious, silky cheesecake whipped cream. This recipe makes ~50 small cream puffs / profiteroles

Ingredients

Craquelin:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, room temp (113g)
  • ⅓ cup (66g) light brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour (130g)

Choux pastry:

  • ⅔ cup water (160g)
  • ⅓ cup whole milk (80g)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (113g), cut into cubes
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 cup bread flour (or use all purpose) (130g)
  • 4 large eggs, cold (you may not use all)

Cheesecake whipped cream:

  • 12 oz cream cheese (340g), room temp
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 cups heavy cream, chilled (720g)

Instructions

Craquelin:

  1. Add the butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla to a bowl. Whisk on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until combined and creamy. Scrape the bowl
  2. Add the flour, and whisk on low speed until the mixture starts to look like a crumble. It should stick together when you apply pressure (just like pie dough)
  3. Place a silicone mat or parchment paper sheet on the back of a 9x13" baking tray. Add the craquelin mixture in the middle and press it into a disc. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper, and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a thin sheet (~2mm thick, or similar to pie crust)
  4. Transfer to the fridge or freezer while you make the choux pastry 

Choux pastry:

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 390F (conventional, no fan) and prepare 2-3 large baking sheets. Place them upside down, and line with parchment paper. Use a pencil and the back of a large piping tip to make 1.5" circle markings on the parchment paper, leaving at least 1.5" between each circle. If you only have 1 baking sheet, don't worry, as you can bake in batches!
  2. Add the water, milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt to a light colored saucepan. Put on the stove on medium heat, and stir and cook until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to boil
  3. Remove from the heat, and add the flour. Use a wooden spatula to mix and fold the flour into the wet ingredients, breaking any lumps, until it comes together into a smooth ball
  4. Place the pan back on the heat on low flame, and cook and stir (using a press and swirl motion) for 2 minutes. This will dry out the dough and it will start to leave a thin film on the bottom of the pan (this doesn't always happen if you're using a nonstick pan, so don't worry too much). Remove from the stove and let cool for 5 minutes
  5. In a separate bowl, add the 4 large eggs, and whisk them lightly to break them down
  6. Transfer the choux pastry dough to the bowl of your stand mixer with a paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer, or just a rubber spatula and your hands if you don't mind a workout). Add about a quarter of the egg mix to the dough, and whisk on medium-low speed for 20-30 seconds until the egg has incorporated. After this, add the egg a little at a time, mixing for 20-30 seconds until fully incorporated, scrape the bowl and check the consistency of the dough after each addition. The choux pastry should become smooth and shiny, and, when you lift it with a rubber spatula and let it fall back into the bowl, it should fall off slowly in a continuous ribbon, then taper off leaving a smooth V shape behind. The pastry should still be thick enough that it holds shape when it falls back into the bowl, instead of just dissolving back in. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop adding more egg. I usually have just a little bit left over, but sometimes have had to add a little more egg beyond the 4 eggs too - so it's all about the consistency! 
  7. Transfer the choux pastry to a piping bag with a ½" round tip. You may have to pipe in batches depending on the size of your piping bags
  8. Use a little choux pastry to stick the corners of the parchment paper to the baking sheet so it doesn't move as you pipe. Now pipe the choux pastry using the circle markings you made earlier. Hold the piping bag vertically, apply steady pressure and lift the piping bag up as you pipe so each mound is tall instead of flat. Once the dollop approaches the 1.5" circle marking, release pressure, lift and flick the piping bag. If piping in batches, keep the rest of the choux pastry covered or in a piping bag at room temperature
  9. Take the craquelin out of the fridge/freezer. It should be firm now. Remove the parchment paper on top, and use the same piping tip as in step 1 to cut the craquelin into 1.5" discs. Cover each choux pastry dollop with a craquelin disc. If piping / baking in batches, keep the craquelin discs in the fridge so they don't become soft
  10. Now, it's time to bake! Transfer the baking sheet with choux pastry piped on it into the oven. Bake at 390F for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 355F without opening the oven, and bake for another 18-20 minutes until the shells are golden brown and crispy. I recommend baking on only one rack in the oven to ensure all choux buns rise evenly - and yes, this does mean you typically have to bake in batches
  11. Remove from the oven, and immediately puncture holes on the bottom of each choux bun using a bismark piping tip so the steam can escape and the shells don't become soft. You will use the same holes to pipe into them later
  12. Repeat until all the choux buns have been baked and cooled down

Cheesecake whipped cream:

  1. Add the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt to a large bowl, and whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture is creamy
  2. Add the cold heavy cream, and whisk again for a few minutes until the mixture becomes thick, fluffy and holds shape (medium stiff peak consistency). Do not overmix
  3. Transfer to a large piping bag in batches, and use a small round piping tip to fill each choux bun generously until the cream starts to push back
  4. Dust the cream puffs with icing sugar, serve and enjoy! 

Notes

  • Scaling: This recipe makes a large batch of ~50 cream puffs, but you can easily halve all the quantities to make a smaller batch
  • Storage: Cream puffs are best eaten within a few hours of being filled, as choux pastry becomes soft quickly. I recommend baking, filling and serving the same day, and keeping the rest in an airtight container in the fridge to consume within a day
  • Make ahead: If you want to prep ahead of time, you can pipe the choux pastry onto the baking sheet and cover with craquelin discs. Then cover loosely with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge and bake directly the next day 
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: French

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a review and tag @bakewithzoha on Instagram!

More Baked Desserts

Comments

    Leave a rating and a comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Honey says

    can I make the shells one day ahead and recrisp them the next day then fill them?

    Reply

  2. Catherine says

    Best choux I’ve ever made. Mine got so big I ran out of cream to fill them with. This will be my new go to recipe for choice. They’re delicious. So crispy. And massive. 😂

    Reply

  3. Jenny says

    Thank you for this really detailed recipe. The obvious love for cooking and care for your readers to be able to replicate this complicated recipe really shines through. Thank you so much! Ive been on a kick recently of trying coffee versions of things so these desserts arent too sweet. Im planning to make the craqueline with some espresso powder and also a coffee version of this creamcheese filling. Does the creamcheese weep at all? Would some gelatin in the filling help prevent that? Im planning to go for a cookie swap and would like to offer some of these and Im wondering if it will last longer than a couple of hours before they go soggy. The party is likely to go on for a while.

    Reply

    • Zoha says

      Thanks so much, Jenny! I hope you were able to try and liked the recipe. Craquelin with coffee sounds delicious. The cream cheese whipped cream shouldn't weep but it's obviously not something to be left out for hours. In my opinion you don't need gelatin. If you make them the same day, they will still be delicious for your cookie swap - thankfully the craquelin stays crispy 🙂

      Reply

  4. Sandi Wagner says

    These turned out so well!! I've never made a choux before and while it's not beginner level, it was easy to follow and turned out so yummy!!

    Reply

  5. Sweetpotato says

    This was a great easy to follow recipe and was my first time making choux! The cream wasn't too sweet and the puffs were good size. I used vanilla bean pods instead of paste in the cream and it turned out great!

    Reply

  6. Soma says

    Amazing recipe and I tried it today. The Chiux puff were tasty and the top came out crisp too as expected, however, the choux pastry collapsed at the back when I turned it around, what can I do to fix it?

    Reply