This Choux au Craquelin with Salted Caramel Cream features buttery choux pastry topped with a sweet, crunchy cookie crust and filled with a melt-in-your-mouth light, creamy and airy salted caramel filling! This is one of my favorite classic French pastries and it’s as delicious and fancy as it sounds!
All my tips and detailed instructions will help you make the BEST airy, creamy, crisp choux au craquelin with salted caramel cream!
Now that I’ve shared with you how to make choux pastry for perfect profiteroles as well as perfect classic eclairs, let’s take it up another notch!
Craquelin topped salted caramel choux pastry (or Choux au Craquelin with Salted Caramel Filling) is as delicious and fancy as it sounds! It’s only a little step up from classic profiteroles.
But my goal with my series of detailed choux pastry, cream puffs, profiteroles and classic eclair posts is to help you perfect these impressive and decadent French desserts! 🙂
If you’re brand new to choux pastry, then I’d suggest the following in terms of experience level.
This is just a suggestion however, and these are all really easy to make once you get the hang of it. I’ve shared a collection of easy step by step pastry recipes you can make and master with choux!
- All levels – Basic guide for making choux pastry + troubleshooting tips.
- Intermediate – How to make eclairs.
- Advanced – How to make choux au craquelin (this post), and paris-brest.
The first time I made choux au craquelin was several years ago. I ate them a few years before, and found them to be so thoroughly addictive, so, I wanted to make my own.
That lovely, crackly top takes these cream puffs to a whole new level. And to make these delicious, crunchy choux buns even more luxurious, I filled them with a light and creamy salted caramel filling!
What is choux au craquelin?
Choux au craquelin is a dessert made with choux pastry, and topped with a thin cookie disc called craquelin. The craquelin is made with a mix of butter, sugar and flour – just like a pie crust recipe or sweet shortcrust pastry. In contrast to regular choux pastry buns, craquelin adds a layer of sweetness and makes the cream puff delightfully crunchy.
As the choux pastry bakes and expands, the cookie disc (craquelin) bakes and forms a sweet, crisp, crackly crust on top, enveloping the top of the cream puff.
Can I use different craquelin variations?
While classic craquelin is made with butter, sugar and flour, there are plenty of different variations that you can experiment with. For this choux au craquelin with salted caramel recipe, I used brown sugar for its molassy flavor, and also because the light brown color stands out more on the choux pastry shell. You can use plain white sugar, if you don’t have brown sugar if you want.
Plus, the craquelin helps keep the cream puff crisp for longer, even when it’s filled with a filling.
How to make the craquelin
It’s super simple to make the craquelin. The craquelin is like a delicious, crispy cookie on top of the choux pastry buns, and a fantastic way to decorate the cream puffs.
The dough for this craquelin only has 3 ingredients. First of all, mix the ingredients to form a dough. Secondly, just roll out the dough till it’s nice and thin. Here’s my secret trick to rolling out the dough – I use a ziploc bag and roll out the dough inside it. Less messy, and keeps the dough from sticking everywhere. Plus, it’s easy to store it in the freezer for later too.
If you don’t have ziploc bags, you can roll them out in between two parchment papers to avoid the craquelin from sticking to your rolling pin.
Once the dough frozen, you’re finally ready for the final step. Smaller pastry discs need to be cut out from the frozen dough. Because the dough is frozen, it’s easier to cut out discs from it to top the choux pastry. You can store the craquelin cookie discs in the freezer for later use.
Choux pastry basics
Please read my detailed perfect choux pastry recipe to understand the basics of choux pastry, as well as to troubleshoot any pitfalls.
For this craquelin choux recipe, you need to pipe out choux pastry that’s about 2 inches in diameter, to match the craquelin disc that’s also about 2 inches in diameter.
And be extra mindful when you’re piping the choux, as the pastry bag and tip need to be held upright. This is because if you pipe it at an angle, the choux will rise at an angle as well.
This will make the craquelin on top lopsided. Also, you don’t have to flatten the tip of your piped choux pastry, because you’ll be placing the craquelin on top instead (as shown below).
Two inch choux pastries will give you choux au craquelin that’s about 2.5 – 3 inches in diameter.
If you want smaller craquelin choux pastries, then pipe smaller pastry mounds (about 1.5 inches in diameter), and top them with 1.5 inch craquelin discs. These pastries will end up baking into cases that are between 2 – 2.5 inches in width.
Salted caramel diplomat cream filling
I find this salted caramel diplomat cream absolutely addictive! It’s probably my favorite flavor variation of a classic diplomat cream.
First, I make a dry caramel and dissolve the caramelized sugar in a little liquid. Next, I mix this with more milk, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla and sea salt to make luscious, creamy salted caramel filling.
Once the pastry cream is completely cooled down, it’s mixed with stabilized chantilly cream. Stabilized chantilly cream is simply cream that’s whipped to soft peaks, with a little sugar, vanilla and gelatin.
The chantilly cream lightens the salted caramel pastry cream, and makes for an amazingly melt-in-your-mouth, light filling.
Can I fill these craquelin choux pastries with pastry cream instead?
While you can fill these craquelin choux pastries with salted caramel pastry cream, the pastries are quite large (about 2.5 inches in width). This means filling them all the way with pastry cream would make the cream puffs quite heavy.
This diplomat cream on the other hand is lightened with whipped cream, resulting in a light, fluffy salted caramel filling that is less sweet and has a better mouthfeel. And overall it works better in these pastries.
Why add gelatin to the chantilly cream?
The gelatin acts as a stabilizer for the whipped cream, and in turn acts as a stabilizer for the diplomat cream as well. The filling stays fluffy and creamy, and doesn’t weep or split into liquid. This is really important to keep the choux au craquelin nice and crisp.
Can I make this salted caramel choux pastry ahead of time?
You can make choux pastry cases ahead of time easily. However, keep them unfilled and freeze the unfilled cases in an air-tight container for later. Then allow the pastries to thaw to room temperature before using.
I do prefer to reheat thawed pastry cases slightly in the oven before filling them, to make them crisp again, because freezing can make the craquelin choux cases a little stale. This step is optional however.
You can make the salted caramel diplomat cream up to 4 days ahead of time, so long as you keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge (not freezer).
If you have leftover choux au craquelin with salted caramel cream, you can freeze them for a day or two as well. And when you’re ready to eat them again, just make sure to thaw them out at room temp. for about 30-60 minutes.
Buttery choux pastry topped with a sweet, crunchy, crackly topping and filled with a not too sweet, melt-in-your-mouth light, creamy, airy salted caramel filling. These craquelin choux pastries are absolutely addictive and look really impressive too!
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Other recipes you may like to check out
EQUIPMENT I USED FOR THIS RECIPE
Circle cutters for the cookie discs on top
Piping bags – 16 inch piping bags for the choux pastry dough
Large round pastry tip – to pipe the pastry cases. Wilton 1A is about 1/2 inch wide. OR you can get Ateco #Plain 809 which is a little larger than 1/2 inch.
Whisks – A good set of whisks is a must for all of your baking needs.
Hand mixer or Stand Mixer – I currently use KitchenAid
2 x Silpat baking mats (optional) – You can use parchment paper instead too.
2 x Half Sheet pans – Having two makes it easier to bake the craquelin choux pastry. While one is baking, the other tray can cool down and be ready to pipe dough on, and then bake as soon as the other tray is out.
Recipe
Craquelin Choux Pastry with Salted Caramel Cream
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsVideo
Equipment:
- See post for detailed list of equipment needed.
Ingredients:
Craquelin (makes enough for 1 ½ batches, so you can freeze the extra for later)
- 115 g unsalted butter 1 stick / ½ cup
- Pinch sea salt
- 130 g light brown sugar about ⅔ cup
- 130 g AP flour about 1⅛ cup
Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream
Salted Caramel Pastry Cream
- 150 g white sugar ¾ cup
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 120 mL warm heavy cream ½ cup. 35% fat content. see notes
- 480 mL whole milk 2 cups
- 40 g cornstarch 4 tbsp
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg please see recipe notes
- 45 g unsalted butter 3 tbsp. Softened
Stabilized Chantilly Cream
- 1 tsp gelatin powder
- 30 mL water 2 tbsp. at room temperature
- 240 mL whipping cream 1 cup. chilled. 35% fat.
- 30 g confectioner’s sugar ¼ cup
- 7 mL vanilla extract 1 ½ tsp
Choux Pastry
- 1 batch Choux pastry baking directions below.
Instructions:
Craquelin (makes enough for 1 ½ batches, so you can freeze the extra for later)
- Place the butter, salt and brown sugar in a bowl and cream the ingredients together until creamy and fluffy.115 g unsalted butter, Pinch sea salt, 130 g light brown sugar
- Add the flour and mix until the mixture looks crumbly. Using your hands, bring the crumbly bits of dough together to form a dough.130 g AP flour
- Split the dough into two equal sized portions, and place each portion inside a 12 x 12 inch ziploc bag. Roll out each piece inside the ziploc bag until it’s about 2 – 3 mm thick. Remove excess air in the ziploc bag and close it. Place both ziploc bags on a flat tray and keep them in the freezer overnight (OR until completely frozen).
Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream
Salted Caramel Pastry Cream (Custard)
- MAKING THE CARAMEL – Sprinkle the sugar over the surface of a stainless steel pan or non-stick pan. Make sure the sugar is sprinkled in a thin layer so that it's easier for it to caramelize, and also make sure there's no water in the pan and on utensils.150 g white sugar
- Heat over medium heat, taking care not to introduce water into the sugar. Stir the sugar as it melts with a heat-proof spatula. The sugar will stick to the spatula, but because it’s non-stick, it’ll come off easily too.
- Continue heating the sugar, while stirring frequently, until the sugar turns into caramel (a golden to amber color) (Please be careful NOT to touch the sugar or the pan as they will be very hot at this point!).
- When the color is amber, add the warm cream into the pan. PLEASE STAND BACK AS YOU ADD THE CREAM AT THIS STAGE, because the pan is extremely hot and you don't want splash back. Stir soon after adding the cream, to dissolve the sugar. This will take a few minutes.120 mL warm heavy cream
- When the caramel has mostly dissolved in the cream, add the rest of the milk, salt, and vanilla into the pan. Heat the milk until it’s nearly boiling, while stirring, to dissolve the rest of the sugar. Now you have a caramel flavored milk base for the custard.½ tsp sea salt, 480 mL whole milk
- While the caramel milk is heating (to dissolve all the caramel), in a separate bowl or small jug, add the eggs, vanilla and cornstarch (cornflour), and whisk until you have a smooth mixture.40 g cornstarch, 3 large egg yolks, 1 large egg, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- Temper the egg mixture by adding a little of the hot caramel milk in a slow and steady stream, while whisking the eggs constantly. After adding enough caramel milk to warm up the mixture, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the caramel milk.
- Heat the egg-caramel milk mixture while whisking/stirring constantly, until the milk starts to thicken. Stir well to make sure the eggs don’t curdle and stick to the bottom and corners of the pan as the custard heats and thickens. I like to switch between a whisk and a spatula to make sure the custard stays smooth while it’s thickening.
- Stir the custard until it comes to a boil (the first big bubble to breakthrough the surface from the custard). When the custard starts to boil, lower the heat and let the custard cook for a further minute while whisking constantly. This will ensure that the cornstarch is heated evenly and thickens the custard properly. Remove the pot from the stove.
- Add the butter to the hot custard and mix until the butter has incorporated into it. Pour the custard into a bowl, and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface of the custard.45 g unsalted butter
- Allow the custard to cool down to room temperature, then store it in the fridge for a few hours until chilled, and it’s ready to be mixed with the cream.
Stabilized Chantilly Cream
- Place the water in a small microwave-proof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water. Allow the gelatin to bloom for about 10 minutes.30 mL water, 1 tsp gelatin powder
- After the gelatin has bloomed, microwave the gelatin for about 10 – 20 seconds to dissolve the gelatin.
- Place the chilled cream in a clean bowl and add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract. Start whisking the cream with a hand mixer at medium-high speed. Pour in the dissolved gelatin while whisking the cream to ensure the gelatin gets mixed in well. Continue whisking until the cream forms soft peaks. Keep in the fridge, covered, until ready to use.240 mL whipping cream, 30 g confectioner’s sugar, 7 mL vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream
- Place about 2 cups of the salted caramel pastry cream in a large bowl. Add the chantilly cream and fold it into the pastry cream.
- If you’d like more salted caramel flavor, then fold in the rest of the pastry cream as well. Keep covered in the fridge until you’re ready to fill the choux pastries. When you’re ready to fill the cream puffs, transfer the diplomat cream into a pastry bag, that’s attached with a small round tip.
Choux Pastry
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking trays with parchment paper or silpat.
- Take out the craquelin discs and place them on a smooth cutting board. Using a two inch cookie cutter, cut out 2 inch circles from the craquelin (about 22- 24 circles). Keep them on a non-stick surface (parchment paper or silpat), and in the freezer until needed.
- Make 1 batch of choux pastry dough according to the linked recipe, and place the dough in a pastry bag, which is attached with either a ½ inch round tip or ½ inch French star tip.1 batch Choux pastry
- Pipe choux pastry mounds on the silpat (about 2 inches in diameter). Keep the tip upright and pipe out smooth mounds (piping tip touching the dough surface while you pipe). Gently twist and remove the tip when you’re done.
- Carefully place a disc of craquelin on top and gently press it into the choux to make sure it sticks and is stable. (I piped about 12 choux buns on one half sheet pan).
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Do not open the door before the 30 minutes, to prevent the pastries from collapsing.
- After 30 minutes, open the oven door and partially pull out the baking tray. Quickly (but gently), prick each pastry with a sharp toothpick to release any steam inside the pastries. Return the tray back to the oven and bake for a further 5 – 10 minutes, until the pastries are a little darker in color.
- Remove the choux pastries from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes in a draft-free place.
Salted caramel craquelin choux pastry
- Using a round or star tip, cut out a hole in the bottom of each of the cooled choux pastry cases.
- Fill the choux pastries with the salted caramel diplomat cream. Optional step – lightly dust the choux au craquelin with confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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