Mar 07 2010
Cream Puffs with Nutella Pastry Cream
Yes, it’s been long overdue. It’s about time we baked something for the Dessert section of our blog – something wonderful and light, like cream puffs! This is actually a dessert I enjoy eating, so it was fitting that we attempted our own version at home. Originally, we were going to make eclairs, but I figure cream puffs would be a good starting point to my first time making pâte à chou which is French for a light pastry dough. Five simple ingredients of butter, water, flour, salt, and eggs creates the puffed pastry for profiteroles, eclairs, and cream puffs. Since we just recently bought an entire jar of Nutella, we decided to mix in some of the lovely chocolate-hazelnut spread to the pastry cream to give it more flavor. The silky cream inside the flaky pastry is absolutely amazing! Overall, we had a fun time mixing, piping, baking, and making a mess in the kitchen. Now, what are we going to do with all of these cute little cream puffs?
To make the pâte à chou (pastry dough), start with 1 1/4 cups water, 1 1/2 sticks butter (cut into pieces), and 1/2 tsp salt and bring this to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate and add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix well until the mixture forms a dough. From there, transfer the dough to a mixer and beat in 5 eggs, 1 at a time, on high speed. The batter should be stiff enough to just hold soft peaks, so it will be easy to pipe.
This was the fun part - piping the pastry batter! This goes into a 375-degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on the outside. Let rest while you work on the pastry cream.
For the pastry cream, we referred to the recipe Daniel used in culinary school. In a saucepan, pour in 16 oz. milk, 3 1/2 oz. sugar, and 1/4 vanilla bean (cut and scraped out). Bring this mixture to a scald. In a separate bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks and 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and temper in the hot milk (this is so that the eggs don't curdle). Then add this mixture into the saucepan and heat over medium until cornstarch taste is gone and begins to boil.
The pastry cream is strained over butter and chilled in an ice bath to help it get thick. This is when we mixed in 1 tbsp of Nutella!
We piped the Nutella pastry cream into each puffed pastry, thus turning it into a cream puff.
Each bite of the cream puff proves to be decadent and delicious. Once you've mastered the pâte à chou recipe, you can be creative and fill it with whatever cream or custard you'd like - and of course, make those long fancy eclairs! Stay tuned for that!
To view or print-out this recipe, click here: Cream Puffs with Nutella Pastry Cream
These puffs are really pretty – I’ve never seen such an original shape: snail puffs
. Very cute! And I bet it’s very tasty! Thanks for the inspiration!
YUM! Anything with Nutella is mine, all MINE!!
Oh I love Nutella! That is such a fantastic idea.
If you have extra, you can totally try a savory filling. Use them up for dinner and finish off the nutella version for dessert!
I could have eaten half a dozen of those cream puffs right now
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OMG…these look incredible!
If you add a little powdered sugar on top, they’ll look nearly identical to the ones they sell at Beard Papas!
Mmm. Nutella is wonderful.
These puffs looks so good, I’m gonna have to try this one. Thank you for sharing!
Ooooo…I love cream puffs. That’s so neat. I definitely have to try making these!!!!!!
Glad you guys like the Nutella part of the pastry cream!
nutella pastry cream? are you kidding me right now? what a phenomenal treat–frankly, i’d be hard-pressed not to just stick the nozzle of the cream bag into my mouth and squeeze until i couldn’t squeeze anymore.
nutella…oh my dear I need these!!
sweetlife
I’m very intrigued by this – does just one TBSP of Nutella impart a strong or a subtle flavour? I really have to try a pate a choux one of these days! Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Dan. One tbsp of Nutella actually gives it a very subtle flavor, which was good for us. But if you like a stronger flavor, add another tbsp, or two, or three… you get the idea. Hope this helps!
omgosh. i die!
best entry ever
nutella adds a good twist to the usual cream. This is making me hungry =D
Yep—these definitely work. Wow; they sound fantastic, and your pics certainly show us they are!
I really like pâte à chou! The creamy Nutella filling looks delicious!
Oh great idea with the Nutella! I think I’ve have to add more than 1 Tb though, I’m a bit Nutella-greedy
These look so good, I would never have guessed it is your first time making pâte à chou. Can’t wait to see the eclairs!
These look INCREDIBLE! Thanks so much for visiting!
I love Nutella, and making cream puffs with it is a brilliant idea!
This is beautiful!
I got a great tip – to freeze them! It’ll last long and can be a cold treat anytime I want. Thought I’d point that out…
Thank you for sharing. Anything with Nutella is bound to be good.
Something that sounds that good can’t be good for you!! haha. and I know it’s not. but sounds and looks super delicious.
I really need to try making these!
Oh my God. Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. OMG. Seriously, are you serious? Out of this world!
Rachel – love your enthusiasm! Haha.
These cream puffs are amazing! May I ask which piping tip sizes you used for the pate choux and the filling? I’m sorely lacking in a variety of shapes and sizes, and these look like something I should have on hand!
This is a foodlovers daydream! Well done! You have just started a nutella cream puff craving in my belly!
Hi Tangled Noodle. Let me confirm the tip sizes and see what we can do to help. I’ll email you!
Enjoy reading this, thank you:)
Definitely going to try the Nutella…I usually make these with a filling of vanilla pudding mixed with cream. Please tell…what is the secret to getting the shapes uniform? Mine are all different shapes and sizes!! thanks so much!
Hi Ingrid! To answer your question, there is no secret to getting the shapes uniformed. As you can see in one of the photos where I’m using the piping bag to pipe, I just make a few circles to form the shape – kinda like a snail. (It was also my very first time making cream puffs!) But instead of having the top of the cream puff stick up like that, it’s best to push it down so that the tip doesn’t burn in the oven. I think it’s fine if yours are slightly different shapes and sizes – that’s the fun of making cream puffs! They will never be exactly the same. Maybe you need to just use the piping bag more often to get more practice and that way you can control it with your hands next time you pipe! Hope this helps and thanks for visiting our blog!
looks absolutely divine!! can’t wait to try.