Strawberry Cream Puffs: The Ultimate French Pastry (Easier Than You Think!)
Light, crispy choux pastry puffs filled with vanilla pastry cream and fresh strawberries. Elegant French pastry that’s surprisingly achievable for home bakers. Perfect for celebrations or when you want to impress!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus 2 hours chilling)
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (including chilling)
- Yield: 12 large cream puffs
- Category: Dessert, Pastry, French Pastry
- Method: Baked, Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Choux Pastry:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Pastry Cream:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
Strawberry Filling:
- 2 cups strawberries, diced
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Optional:
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Chocolate ganache
Instructions
Pastry Cream (make first):
- Heat milk until steaming
- Whisk 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until thick
- Temper eggs with hot milk
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and boiling
- Cook 1-2 minutes more
- Remove from heat; whisk in remaining sugar, butter, vanilla
- Strain; cover surface with plastic wrap; chill 2+ hours
Strawberries: 8. Toss strawberries with sugar and lemon juice 9. Let sit 30 minutes; drain excess liquid
Choux Pastry: 10. Preheat oven to 425°F; line baking sheets with parchment 11. Boil water, butter, salt, sugar 12. Add flour all at once; stir until ball forms 13. Cook on heat 1-2 minutes, stirring 14. Cool 2-3 minutes 15. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth after each 16. Dough should fall in slow V-shape 17. Pipe 2-inch mounds 3 inches apart 18. Smooth any peaks with wet finger 19. Bake at 425°F, immediately reduce to 375°F 20. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden 21. Turn off oven; poke hole in each puff 22. Leave in oven with door ajar 10 minutes 23. Cool completely
Assembly: 24. Whisk pastry cream until smooth 25. Fold in drained strawberries 26. Cut puffs in half horizontally 27. Fill with strawberry cream 28. Replace tops; dust with powdered sugar 29. Serve within 4-6 hours
Notes
- Measure flour by spooning and leveling
- Don’t open oven first 20 minutes
- V-shape consistency test is crucial
- Fill as close to serving as possible
- Unfilled puffs freeze beautifully