During our last trip to Japan, I saw some of the most beautiful dessert displays in stores, shopping malls, and even train stations. Among my favorite treats were Japanese Cream Puffs, or Choux au Craquelin. These delightful puffs have a sweet, crackly, and crunchy topping. Moreover, they are filled with a luscious Chantilly cream that melts in your mouth.
Their exquisite appearance and delicious taste make them a must-try for anyone visiting Japan. They perfectly blend French pastry techniques with Japanese flair. Therefore, each bite of these delectable pastries offers a perfect harmony of textures and flavors, making them truly irresistible.
Making these cream puffs at home is rewarding, and surprisingly easier than it seems. First, prepare a basic choux pastry and top it with a simple dough made of butter, sugar, and flour. This creates the signature crackly crust. After baking, fill them with homemade Chantilly cream. To do this, whip together heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy. Though making Japanese Cream Puffs requires some patience and precision, the end result is stunning. Overall, it is a dessert that impresses both visually and with every delicious bite.
It’s important to keep the rolled out craquelin in the freezer until the choux is ready for the oven.
Japanese Cream Puffs
Ingredients
- For the craquelin:
- 85 g unsalted butter
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g flour
- For the choux pastry:
- 65 g all purpose flour
- ½ tsp granulated white sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 60 g unsalted butter cut into pieces
- ½ cup 120 ml water
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- For the filling:
- 200 ml heavy cream or double cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- - For the craquelin:
- Soften the butter kept at room temperature, add and mix the sugar and flour.
- Form the dough into a ball, put in a freezer bag or between two parchment paper and roll it to 3mm thickness and freeze. Keep in freezer until the choux is ready for the oven.
- - For the choux pastry:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non stick 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).
- Transfer the pastry into a piping bag and pipe into 3 - 3.5cm sized balls.
- and take out the craquelin from the freeyzer and cut into circles and place on the pastry. (I used cookie cutter at 3cm diameter)
- Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color.
- - Whipped Cream:
- In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and whisk in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form.
- - To Assemble:
- Split the pastry shells in half and fill (or pipe) with whipped cream. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream. Leftover Cream Puffs can be stored in the refrigerator.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I HOPE YOU LOVE IT.
Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littleswissbaker.
My husband really liked these!