Cream puff
A round, hollow shell of choux pastry filled with whipped cream or pastry cream and often dusted with powdered sugar.
- Cakes, cookies, pastries and baked goods
Cream puffs start as choux pastry, a cooked dough of water or milk, butter, flour and eggs. Piped mounds puff in a hot oven as the moisture turns to steam, leaving a crisp shell with a hollow center. The shells must bake until well browned and dry, or they will collapse as they cool.
Once cool, the puffs are split or pierced and filled with cream. Variations include profiteroles served with chocolate sauce and craquelin-topped puffs with a crackly sugar crust. They are best filled shortly before serving so the shells stay crisp.
Bake it at VanillaGoods
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RecipeWindbeutel (German Cream Puffs with Sour Cherries)3 hr 46 min · Makes 12 pieces -
RecipeChoux à la Crème (French Cream Puffs)4 hr 50 min · Makes 24 cream puffs -
RecipeClassic Cream Puffs with Vanilla Pastry Cream3 hr 15 min · Makes 20 puffs -
RecipeBerry Cream Puff Pastry1 hr 50 min · Makes 10 pastries
Related entries
Sources
Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
- 1.5: Pastry Doughs, LibreTexts (Rink & Thibodeaux, Introduction to Baking and Pastries)
- Glossary, LibreTexts (BCcampus, Modern Pastry and Plated Dessert Techniques)