Learn how to make perfect chocolate choux pastry with this detailed, step by step recipe! Choux pastry made with cocoa powder, and filled with chantilly cream filling for delicious chocolate cream puffs! Perfect bite-sized desserts. EASY - This recipe is easy! Please read the recipe in full first, and the tips in the post, so that you know what to expect at each step of the recipe. The recipe becomes even easier with some familiarity. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.
2tspgood quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
¼tspsea salt less if using table salt
Instructions
Chocolate Choux pastry
Preheat oven to 400°F / 204°C.
Measure out all the ingredients.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and set aside in a small bowl.
30 g dutch cocoa powder, 140 g AP flour
Place the salt, water, sugar, and butter in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat, while stirring occasionally. Make sure that the butter, salt, and sugar melt before the water comes to a boil.
236 g water, 115 g unsalted butter, 50 g white sugar, ½ tsp sea salt
When the water comes to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and immediately add the cocoa powder and flour mix, in one go. Vigorously mix in the flour mixture so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat).
Cook the dough for about 1 minute (over medium heat) while mixing and moving it around in the pan, until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan and resembles dry mashed potato. You should also notice a dough film formed at the bottom of the pan. The cook time will vary depending on your stove, and pot size.
Transfer the dough into a bowl and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes.
Lightly whisk one egg in a small bowl and add it to the dough. Mix it well into the dough until thoroughly mixed in. Then add the second and third egg, mixing in the second well before adding the third.
4 large eggs
Now whisk the final egg, and add it in increments, until you get the right consistency. This is a crucial step, so take care not to add too much egg as this will result in flat/deflated puffs.
The correct dough consistency is when the dough has a sheen to it, and has pipeable consistency, and the dough will form a “V” shape at the end of your spatula when lifted from the bowl. You may or may not use up all of the four eggs. This is why the fourth egg is added in increments.
Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.
Pipe the desired shape onto the baking sheet – either using a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I use Wilton 1A, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead). Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex and any sharp points on the dough mounds. Make sure to leave at least 1 - 1.5 inches between the piped mounds.
Bake in the oven preheated at 400°F / 204°C, for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 375°F / 190°C, and let the choux pastry cook for a further 20 minutes. DO NOT open the oven door during this step.
After 25 minutes of total cook time, the choux pastry shells should have puffed up. Quickly open the oven door and rotate the baking sheet. If you piped very large choux pastry mounds, then let them cook a little bit longer before opening the oven door.
Cook the choux puffs for another 5 minutes. At this stage, the choux pastries should have a hardened top. Quickly prick each of the cases with a toothpick.
Bake the choux pastry for another 3 - 5 minutes, to allow the pastries to dry out a little.
Remove from the oven, and prick the pastries one more time. Let the choux pastry cases cool completely in a draft-free area, preferably somewhere that is not cold.
Preheat the oven to 400°F / 204°C again for the next batch. Once preheated, pipe and bake the second tray of choux pastry.
Fill the choux cases with stabilized sweetened whipped cream as soon as they are at room temperature, and serve immediately. OR you can store cooled choux pastry shells in an air-tight container for up to one day. To store them for longer, keep in the freezer in an air-tight container.
You can either cut the top of the pastry and fill the bottom half with whipped cream, OR make a hole at the bottom of the shell and fill with a pastry bag.
Stabilized chantilly cream
In a small microwave-safe bowl, place the water, and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water. Make sure all the gelatin is saturated with water, and then let it sit for at least 10 minutes to bloom.
1 tsp powdered gelatin, 2 tbsp water
In a large bowl, place the heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine. Have it ready to be whisked with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer by the time the gelatin is ready.
1 ½ cups chilled heavy cream, 60 g confectioner’s sugar, 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract, ¼ tsp sea salt
After 10 minutes, microwave the gelatin in 10 second intervals to dissolve it. Do NOT let the gelatin mixture boil.
Stir in the 1 tbsp of cold cream or milk to temper the gelatin mixture.
1 tbsp heavy cream
Start whisking the heavy cream mixture on high speed, and add the gelatin mixture into it. Do NOT add the gelatin directly onto the whisk. Instead, add it where the cream is moving quickly due to whisking action. Alternatively, as soon as you add the gelatin, move the mixer around in the cream to make sure that the gelatin is mixed in well. The idea is to get the gelatin mixed into the cream as fast as possible, without it touching the whisk when added.
Lower the mixer speed to medium (or medium high), and whisk the heavy cream until you have stiff peaks. Keep a close eye on it since the cream can go from stiff peaks to broken in a matter of seconds.
Place the whipped chantilly cream in a large pastry bag, attached with a star tip (to create swirls), or with a round tip / bismarck tip (to fill).
Notes
A NOTE ON THE CHANTILLY CREAM FILLING
This recipe makes enough for about 20 – 25 cream puffs, IF you fill them the way I have in the pictures in this post (swirled filling). But if you’re only filling the cream puffs from the bottom, then you will need a lot less filling. Any leftover whipped cream can be served with fruits.
HOW FAR IN ADVANCE COULD I MAKE CREAM PUFFS?
Cream puffs are best served within a few hours of being filled.You can make the choux puffs a day ahead, and then re-crisp them in a warm oven (about 250 - 300 F) before filling with the chantilly cream.Stabilized whipped cream can also be made a day ahead, but may need to be re-mixed with a dash of cream to make it smooth again.I make the stabilized chantilly cream while the choux pastry is cooling down.
STORING CHOUX PASTRY / CREAM PUFFS FOR LONGER
The best way to store choux pastry is to freeze baked and UNFILLED cases in an air-tight container. When you’re ready to fill them, reheat the cases in the oven to make them crisp again. Once cooled, they can be filled and served.If you do have filled cream puffs that are leftover, these can be placed in an air-tight container and frozen too. I find that they become stale in the fridge very quickly, so I always prefer to store leftovers in the freezer. Since the filling is so light, the cream puffs de-frost at room temperature pretty quickly.