What’s choux au craquelin? It’s basically cream puffs but a tad fancy with that sweet crusty top (craquelin). Cream puffs are typically filled with sweet pastry cream. They are so good! Luckily they’re not too difficult to make and the end result is a fancy dessert that can impress anyone.
I love making and eating choux au craquelin. I don’t always make them because I can’t be bothered to make the craquelin. The craquelin is a simple cookie-like dough that consists of sugar, butter, flour, and a pinch of salt, is rolled out, cut, and perched on top of piped choux and the two are baked together, producing pastry puffs with a crackly appearance, crunchy texture, and a buttery, sweet bite. You can add some food coloring to them to give them a different color or leave it as is and they’ll take on whatever natural color the dough is. Usually, it’s a brownish color for the brown sugar that’s in the recipe.
Curious to try these choux au craquelin out? Give it a go. You can adjust your pastry cream to whatever flavor you like and viola, you’ve got a tasty treat. Don’t feel like pastry cream? I’m sure you can just fill them with whipped cream and that’s just as tasty. I’ve done it in various ways but the recipe below is a straightforward one.
For yesterday’s sweet treat, be sure to check it out. These gingerbread biscotti are so crunchy, they make for the perfect treat with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee.
Choux au Craquelin (Cream Puffs)
These choux au craquelin are basically a cream puff that’s dressed up with a crusty sweet top (craquelin), and make for such a fancy dessert!
Makes 16-20 cream puffs
Ingredients
Craquelin
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup; 58g) light brown sugar
- 2 ounces (1/2 stick; 4 tbsp, 58g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, and softened
- 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup; 58g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- a sprinkle of salt
- optional: red, green gel food coloring
Choux Pastry
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Pastry Cream
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the craquelin
to make the craquelin (by hand): in a medium bowl and using a flexible spatula, mash together brown sugar and butter, then stir until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. note, you can also make this in a stand mixer if you prefer, but i make so little that it’s not worth the hassle.
add flour and salt, thoroughly mixing until no dry flour remains and a damp, crumbly meal has formed, about 2 minutes.
using your hands, bring dough together to form a ball (it will be a bit sticky but do not add extra flour). note: this is also where you could add in your food coloring if you want to change the color of your crusty top. i typically divide it into however many colors i want and continuing shaping my dough/ball from there. place a sheet of parchment paper on a work surface and set dough on top. shape dough into a roughly 6- by 8-inch flat rectangle.
cover with a second sheet of parchment paper. using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a 1/8-inch-thick rough rectangle 1/8 inch thick (it should be about 12-by-14 inches in size); reposition both sheets of parchment paper as needed to minimize creasing. transfer dough, along with parchment paper, to a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until cold, about 5 minutes (or refrigerate until cold, about 15 minutes). meanwhile, line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
remove top sheet of parchment paper. Using a 1-inch round cutter, stamp out 16-20 pieces of craquelin. working quickly, transfer craquelin rounds to the prepared baking sheet in a single layer, and return to freezer; you may need to slide an offset spatula under the cut-outs to loosen them from the parchment paper. if desired, craquelin dough scraps can be re-rolled out, chilled, and cut into new rounds (see notes section for more on holding extra, uncooked rounds).
For the choux pastry
to make the choux pastry, preheat oven to 400°f (200°c) and place rack in center of oven. line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a nonstick vegetable spray.
in a bowl sift or whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (make sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of evaporation.) remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or use a hand mixer, and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon). put the choux pastry in a piping bag and pipe 16-20 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then top each dough mound with a craquelin round.
bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350°f (180°c). continue to bake for a further 30 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. turn the oven off, poke a couple of holes in each puff and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells completely cool (and dry out).
For the pastry cream
to make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half and milk, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.
when the half-and-half and milk mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly. return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
when ready to use, put pastry cream in a piping bag with an insert tip.
To fill piped-in choux au craquelin (cream puffs)
working with one at a time, insert tip of pastry cream–filled bag into hole in each choux and begin piping with steady pressure until filled (you can tell because the choux will feel heavy and pastry cream will start to overflow the hole). wipe away any excess pastry cream. repeat until all choux au craquelin are filled. serve immediately.
optional: you can decorate or top off each choux au craquelin if you want with some whipped cream or any decorative elements of choice. in the photos above, i’ve added some whipped cream to each piped choux au craquelin.
Notes
- If you want to make sure that each puff is the right size, you can prepare a template ahead of time. Take one sheet of parchment paper and, using a 2-inch round cutter as a guide, trace 9 circles that are 3 inches apart. Flip paper upside down and set it on the baking sheet. Repeat with a second piece of parchment paper.
To enjoy the choux au craquelin unfilled, you can skip poking holes in the bottoms. Once both trays are done baking, simply turn off the oven and leave the door partially open for 30 minutes (Step 9), then serve immediately. - For Sandwich-Style Choux au Craquelin
If you’re making sandwich-style choux au craquelin, you’ll need a greater volume of filling than this recipe provides. There are several ways to arrive at the right amount:
Pastry cream: Make a double batch of any of the pastry cream recipes (or make a batch each of the different flavors).
Whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine 2 cups heavy cream, sugar to taste, and a splash of vanilla extract. Whisk by hand or mix at medium speed until thick peaks form (peaks should not be loose or stiff in structure).
Crème légère: Make a single batch of crème légère. - Make-Ahead and Storage
Filled and unfilled choux au craquelin are best consumed on the day they’re made.
Uncooked craquelin cut-outs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To store unfilled choux au craquelin, wrap them tightly in plastic and place in an airtight container; they can be kept frozen for up to 1 month. To refresh, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Transfer frozen choux au craquelin to a sheet tray and reheat until crisp, about 5 minutes. If filling, let cool at room temperature first before doing so.
This recipe has been adapted from Serious Eats. This site contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase through them, we receive a small commission.