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Craquelin Cream Puffs

Prep
10 min
Bake
50 min
Total
1 hr
Makes
25

Ingredients

Craquelin topping

  • 3 tbsp40 gunsalted butterSoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter; European-style unsalted butter is closest. In the UK, unsalted butter.
  • ¼ cup50 gsugarBrown
  • 6 tbsp50 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • food coloring of your choice

Choux pastry

  • ½ cup125 gmilk
  • ½ cup125 gwater
  • 7 tbsp100 gunsalted butter
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 1 pinchgranulated sugar
  • 1 ⅔ cups200 gall-purpose flour
  • 5large eggs

Filling

  • 2 cups500 mlheavy creamIce cold. German cream for whipping has about 30 to 32 percent fat. In the US use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream; in the UK, whipping cream (double cream also works but whips faster, so watch it).
  • 2 packetswhipped cream stabilizerA packet of modified starch and sugar that keeps whipped cream firm; one packet is used for about 1 cup (250 ml) of cream. In the US use whipped cream stabilizer powder (sold online and in some baking aisles), or about 1 tbsp nonfat dry milk powder per cup of cream; in the UK, cream stabiliser powder (sold online), or a spoonful of mascarpone whipped in with the cream.
  • 2 to 3 tbspgranulated sugar
  • 2 to 3 tbspjamYour choice. In everyday German any jam, not only citrus marmalade. In the US use jam or preserves (seedless if the recipe needs a smooth spread); in the UK, jam (seedless if the recipe needs a smooth spread).
  • Please note: Depending on how big or small you pipe the cream puffs, you will of course end up with a different number! That means the filling may also be calculated too generously or too short. My tip: Better buy extra cream, in case you need more filling.

Method

  1. For the craquelin, work all the ingredients into a soft dough. Roll it out very thinly between two pieces of parchment paper and freeze it.

  2. For the choux pastry, bring the milk, butter, sugar, salt & water to a boil. Sift the flour thoroughly and add it to the boiling liquid all at once. Turn the stove down to low heat and keep stirring in the flour until a ball of dough forms. Then, stirring constantly, cook the dough on the stove for at least one more minute to “dry it out”.

  3. After “drying out” or “toasting” the dough, transfer it to another bowl and let it cool down well.

  4. Stir the eggs into the cooled dough one at a time. (This often takes a while! Please be patient!)

  5. Pipe the dough onto parchment paper with a piping bag and a large round tip.

  6. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) convection (fan).

  7. Cut out rounds from the frozen craquelin with a cutter that is slightly smaller than the piped cream puffs and place them on top. Work quickly while the craquelin is still cold and hard! Put it back in the freezer in between if needed.

  8. Put the baking sheet in the oven and pour a good splash of water onto the bottom of the oven. Close the door right away and bake the cream puffs for about 20 minutes until the edges are brown. It's better to bake them a little darker, because pale cream puffs collapse quickly.

  9. After baking, let the cream puffs cool 100% on the baking sheet.

  10. Whip the cream with the sugar until stiff. At the end, briefly beat in the whipped cream stabilizer.

  11. If you like, fold the jam into the whipped cream and fill the cream puffs using a piping bag.

  12. Cream puffs without the craquelin effect often have holes or cracks where you can push in the piping bag with a little pressure to fill them. For the cream puffs with the craquelin effect, I poked a hole in the bottom before filling and filled them through it.

From German Pastry Chef. Full recipe with photos: germanpastrychef.com/recipes/craquelin-cream-puffs/