Mom's Cream Puff or Eclair Recipe

Mom's Cream Puff or Eclair Recipe is perfect every time, easy to make, and great for so many uses from sweet to savory fillings and we have all these recipe ideas here for you today.

The dough can be a little intimidating but rest assured the easy instructions we've provided step-by-step, will be the only Pâte à choux, or choux pastry puff recipe you'll ever need.

This same dough can be used for log-shaped eclairs which is our pastry dough baked and filled with vanilla custard and then drizzled on top with melted chocolate.

While well known in French bakery shops, here in America you will find these puffs with many kinds of fillings from sweet to savory.

Savory fillings are perfect for brunch, events, and hosting a dinner party as delicious-filled finger foods so don't miss our recipe suggestions below.

This one pastry dough will be all you need to entertain guests for an elegant dessert table or an assortment of filled appetizers.

This versatile French delicate pastry dough is also one of the easiest to make and can be made in various shapes and sizes.

We included the recipe for making the Perfect Whipped Cream and the most Perfect Vanilla Custard to fill your cream puffs or eclairs plus many Savory Filling ideas for that perfect impressive before-dinner appetizer.

Just scroll down and print off the recipe card for all our fabulous ways to use cream puff dough from sweet to savory ideas!

Making the Cream Puff Pastry

The photo above is the "Whipped Cream Filled" cream puff pastry, which you will find in many French and American bakeries.


The dough is made on top of the stove in a pan with flour, butter, and eggs.


See the recipe below in the recipe card.

Shaping the Dough Tips

1. using a cookie press you can shape it into logs or puffs having a swirled design
2. also, a filled pastry bag with a large star pastry tip
3. for large rounds drop by tablespoons 
4. for small appetizer puffs use a teaspoon
5. logs for eclairs can be shaped with a tablespoon as well but will look more professional using the cookie press or pastry bag with an extra-large star tip

Tools

• bowls
• wooden spoon
• whisk
• fit a large piping bag with a large 1/2 inch round tip or no tip at all for cream puffs or use a 1/2 inch star tip for eclairs and add the dough
• use a star tip on a cookie press if you would like a swirl effect like the photo above
• tablespoon
• teaspoon
• measuring cup
• measuring spoon
• baking sheet
• parchment paper or Silpat mat

Savory Filling Ideas

1. Turkey breast chopped fine to add some mayo or ranch dressing to moisten
2. Chicken chopped adding peppercorn ranch dressing, raisins, diced apples
3. Turkey and cranberry sauce
4. Pulled pork
5. Peanut butter and jelly
6. Nutella
7. Spinach Dip spread
8. Bacon chopped tomato and mayo
9. Egg Salad using chopped boiled eggs and mayo
10. Tuna Salad using canned tuna, mayo, and some chopped black olives
11. Ham Salad using chopped ham, chopped pineapple, and mayo
12. Cream cheese spread on the bread and add canned drained crab meat or baby shrimp
13. Tomatoes diced with Basil pesto (really festive for Holiday or Christmas!

Other Sweet Fillings

below you will find several recipes for fillings from different Regions in Italy

1. whipped cream
2. cannoli ricotta-filled
3. almond or vanilla pastry cream
4. chocolate pastry filling
5. fresh or dried fruit whipped cream filled
6. lemon filling(as time went on, bakeries expanded filling flavors

Ingredients to Make the Cream Puffs

• eggs
• butter
• water
• all-purpose flour

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Try My Other Favorite Desserts

Original Cannoli

Cannoli Tarts

Cannoli Mousse

French Choux Pastry

Pâte à choux, or choux pastry, is a French style of pastry prepared on the stovetop.

Its ingredients are flour, water (or milk), butter, and eggs when baked the texture is light and crispy and can be filled.

The choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries from sweet to savory.

It's the perfect shell that's hollow to be filled with your heart's desire from sweet cream fillings to savory sandwich fillings, we have several suggestions for you.

Mom's pastry recipe is easy to make and perfect for using the savory fillings in hosting parties, weddings, and showers events or making beautifully filled pastry to serve guests for dessert.

Mom's Cream Puff or Eclair Recipe

Yield: 15

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Here is the recipe to make cream puff or eclair dough plus the perfect whipped cream and vanilla custard to fill them with.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl then set aside.
3. Measure 1 cup flour place in another bowl and set aside.
4. In a heavy nonstick saucepan, pour 1 cup of water and the stick of butter (not margarine) and bring to a boil on medium heat.
5. Stir in the flour quickly to the butter and water mixture using a wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved, comes together, and is thick.
6. Remove from heat and cool for around 5 minutes.
7. Add eggs, and beat very rapidly with the wooden spoon until a ball of dough is formed and everything is evenly blended together.
8. Note: it's very important to beat this fast.
9. Spoon one tablespoon of dough (or teaspoon for small mini cream puffs) onto an ungreased cookie sheet or on parchment paper.
10. Note: This dough can be shaped into long logs for eclairs.
11. For fancier pastry puffs, use an extra-large cookie star tip and pastry bag to make a round swirl effect.
12. Bake at 400 degrees for 1/2 hour do not open the oven or the puffs will not cook correctly.
13. When browned remove from oven, cool completely,
14. Cut in half to fill.
15. Fill regular cream puffs with whipped heavy cream sweetened.
16. If making eclairs fill with vanilla custard and drizzle the top with melted chocolate.
17. Perfect Whipped Cream Recipe
18. 1 cup heavy cream
19. 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
20. Place a mixing bowl in the freezer for around 15 minutes.
21. Remove the bowl from the freezer.
22. Add the heavy cream to the bowl with sugar and beat on high speed using an electric mixer for 1 minute or until the cream has stiff peaks
23. Do not overbeat.
24. Perfect Vanilla Custard for Eclairs
25. 2 1/2 cups of milk
26. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
27. 4 egg yolks
28. 1/2 cup flour
29. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or another flavored extract
30. Heat the milk to a boil then let it sit for 15 minutes to cool.
31. In a bowl add the eggs and sugar and beat for 1 minute.
32. Sift the flour into the egg and sugar mixture beating and making sure no lumps remain.
33. Slowly pour in the milk. Whisk together until smooth.
34. Place back into the pan and heat until it is thickened.
35. Stir in the vanilla extract.
36. Cool and fill eclairs.
37. Option for puff pastry filling:
38. If you want to use this dough for a dinner party with a savory filling instead of dessert, fill the puffs with egg salad, tuna salad, or ham or chicken salad.

Notes

Shaping the Dough Tips

1. using a cookie press you can shape it into logs or puffs having a swirled design
2. also, a filled pastry bag with a large star pastry tip
3. for large rounds drop by tablespoons 
4. for small appetizer puffs use a teaspoon
5. logs for eclairs can be shaped with a tablespoon as well but will look more professional using the cookie press or pastry bag with an extra-large star tip

Savory Filling Ideas

1. Turkey breast chopped fine to add some mayo or ranch dressing to moisten
2. Chicken chopped adding peppercorn ranch dressing, raisins, diced apples
3. Turkey and cranberry sauce
4. Pulled pork
5. Peanut butter and jelly
6. Nutella
7. Spinach Dip spread
8. Bacon chopped tomato and mayo
9. Egg Salad using chopped boiled eggs and mayo
10. Tuna Salad using canned tuna, mayo, and some chopped black olives
11. Ham Salad using chopped ham, chopped pineapple, and mayo
12. Cream cheese spread on the bread and add canned drained crab meat or baby shrimp
13. Tomatoes diced with Basil pesto (really festive for Holiday or Christmas!
14. For filling: 
15. fit a large piping bag with a large 1/2 inch round tip or no tip at all for cream puffs or use a 1/2 inch star tip for eclairs and add the dough
16. use a star tip on a cookie press if you would like a swirl effect for puff pastry dough

Other Sweet Fillings

below you will find several recipes for fillings from different Regions in Italy

1. whipped cream
2. cannoli ricotta-filled
3. almond or vanilla pastry cream
4. chocolate pastry filling
5. fresh or dried fruit whipped cream filled
6. lemon filling or curd

Nutrition Facts

Calories

101.12

Fat (grams)

7.31

Sat. Fat (grams)

4.25

Carbs (grams)

6.44

Fiber (grams)

0.23

Net carbs

6.21

Sugar (grams)

0.06

Protein (grams)

2.4

Sodium (milligrams)

66.06

Cholesterol (grams)

59.85

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https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2009/06/margaret-ann-fanellis-cream-puffs.html

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French desserts, French pastry, choux pastry recipe, cream puff recipe, elcair recipe, perfect whipped cream recipe, perfectvanilla custard recipe

dessert recipes, french pastry recipes, cream puff recipes, pastry recipes, filled pastry recipes

French, Italian, American

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Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2009. It was edited and re-published in 2022.