Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Choux Pastry

1. 1
   In a pot, bring the water to a boil with the butter and salt.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Add the flour all at once and stir over the heat for 1–2 minutes, until the dough comes together into a ball and pulls away from the sides.

   Stove

   💡Cooking on the stove dries the dough: that way it absorbs more eggs, and their steam puffs it up in the oven.
3. 3
   Let cool 5 minutes and add the eggs one at a time, beating hard after each, until the dough is smooth and glossy.

   💡Add the next egg only after the previous one is fully absorbed: dough that gets eggs too fast turns runny and won't hold its shape.
4. 4
   Pipe balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

   Piping bagBaking panParchment paper
5. 5
   Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (390°F) 25 minutes, until the pastries are puffed and golden. Don't open the oven partway through.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Opening the oven partway through lets the steam out and the pastries collapse. Open it only when they are golden and firm.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.

For the Cream Filling

1. 6
   Heat the milk to just below a boil.

   StovePot
2. 7
   In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and starch.

   BowlWhisk
3. 8
   Pour the hot milk in a thin stream into the mixture, whisking constantly.

   ⚙ Tempering eggsWhisk

   💡The hot liquid goes into the eggs slowly while whisking, and only about a third of it in the first batch: that way they warm gradually and don't turn into scrambled eggs.
4. 9
   Return to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cream thickens and bubbles in the center, then cook 1–2 more minutes.

   StovePot

   💡Stir nonstop until it bubbles: only then does the starch thicken fully, and the cream won't turn runny later.
5. 10
   Add the vanilla and stir.
6. 11
   Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and let cool.

   BowlPlastic wrap

To assemble

1. 12
   Cool the pastries completely and halve each one.

   Knife
2. 13
   Fill each one with the filling.

   💡Fill only completely cooled pastries, and close to serving: filling in a warm pastry melts, and a pastry left standing filled turns soggy.
3. 14
   Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.