Strawberry Cream Puffs

These Strawberry Cream Puffs are delightfully easy to make, bringing together sweet cream and strawberries filled in light and buttery choux pastry. Brighten your day with this delicious French dessert in the comfort of your own home. Nothing beats a batch of freshly baked choux pastry made straight from your oven!

📝 Ingredients

• 40 ml water
• 45 ml milk
• 65 g unsalted butter
• 1 g salt
• 70 g cake flour (for instructions on how to make cake flour, refer to the blog post above)
• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (chilled)
• 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup strawberries (stems removed and cut in thick slices)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Choux Pastry ---
2. 2Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
3. 3In a pot on medium heat, add milk, water, butter, and salt and stir together. Bring to a boil. Once it boils, remove from heat and sift in the flour to mix quickly to create the batter.
4. 4After the flour is mixed in, lightly cook the dough on medium-low heat while mixing continuously. After about 1-2 minutes and a thin layer forms on the bottom of the pot, transfer the dough into a mixing bowl. Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
5. 5Slowly add one egg at a time, using a mixer on low speed or a spatula. Be sure to mix each egg thoroughly before adding in the next. Mix together until the batter reaches a thick and smooth consistency. Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (You can also cut a small hole in the tip as well).
6. 6Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat, and pipe 2-inch mounds, leaving a few inches apart. Spray the pastry with water with a spray bottle to create a humid environment (you can also wet the baking sheet prior to piping). Using the moisture, smooth down the peaks of each mound.
7. 7Bake for 10 minutes, and while the pastries are in the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven door while the pastries are baking, as the cool air will interfere with the rise.
8. 8Remove them from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Ensure the pastries are cooled completely prior to filling.
9. 9--- Whipped Cream ---
10. 10Add whipping cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix on medium-high speed for about 3-4 minutes, until medium peaks form and it reaches a pillowy consistency.
11. 11--- Final Assembly ---
12. 12To assemble, carefully cut off the top of each pastry and pipe the whipped cream inside, and top with a sliced strawberry in each. Lightly dust with powdered sugar and serve.