Name: Easy Cream Puffs Recipe (Profiteroles)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 42 min
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 1/2 cup butter; 1 cup flour; 4 large eggs; 1 cup heavy whipping cream ((granulated por powdered sugar)); 3 Tbsp sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Believe it or not, cream puffs are one of the easiest desserts to make! I’ll share my easy cream puffs recipe, and you can dress them up however you’d like! My favorite way to enjoy them is with a simple cream filling.

French pastries are my absolute favorite. If you like these you might like our homemade cherry turnovers or croissants. This post was originally shared in 2010 and has been updated with a video and new images.

Watch Our Step By Step Video!

My Sweetheart and I recently celebrated our wedding Anniversary. We had a nice dinner at home with the kids, since it was a weeknight, and for dessert, I made one of his favorite treats. Cream puffs! Have you made your own cream puffs before? They look like they might be complicated, but are actually really easy to make only requiring a few ingredients.

How Do You Make Cream Puffs?

You can use this pastry dough for cream puffs, eclairs and churros as well! It’s super versatile and so simple.

Easy Cream Puff Dough

First, you’ll heat 1 stick of butter and a cup of water in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Add a cup of flour and stir until a dough forms. There will probably be a thin film on the bottom of your pan—-that’s normal. The dough isn’t burning, it’s just cooking.

Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, stirring completely to incorporate each time. The dough will look a bit slimy like it’s not going to come together, but keep stirring because it will. PROMISE.

balls of cream puff dough on baking sheet

Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop 20 balls of cream puff dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Cream puffs should be golden brown. Let cool.

How big should cream puffs be?

You can make these large or small. Mine are medium shaped, about 2″ when baked.

slicing top off of cream puff with a sharp knife

Cutting and Hollowing Out Cream Puffs

There are a couple of different ways to fill cream puffs. You can inject the cream through the side, or slice the top off and fill with cream then put the top back on. This is what I do.

I take a sharp knife and cut the tip of my cream puff off. Then I pull out the dough in the center to make room for the cream, fill with cream, and put the top of the cream puff back on.

Watch my step by step video to see exactly how to do this!

How To Fill Cream Puffs With Cream

First, you’ll need to decide what kind of cream you’d like to use. My favorites are homemade whipped cream, chocolate mousse, or pastry cream.

Fill a large Ziploc baggie or frosting bag with a large star tip (optional) or simply cut the corner off of the bag. Load bag with filling and fill each cream puff. Place the top of the cream puff back into place.

For a fancier version, spoon a small amount of chocolate ganache over each finished cream puff and refrigerate until firm.

Store cream puffs in the refrigerator. They can be frozen for up to 6 months.

3 More Delicious Desserts That Are Easy To Make

Chocolate Cream Angel Food Cake

Buckeye Chocolate Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Easy Cream Puffs Recipe (Profiteroles)

Believe it or not, cream puffs are one of the easiest desserts to make! I'll share my easy cream puffs recipe, and you can dress them up however you'd like! My favorite way to enjoy them is with a simple cream filling.

4.34 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

cooling: 30 minutes

Total Time: 42 minutes

Servings: cream puffs

Calories: 98kcal

Ingredients

Cream Puff Dough

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 large eggs

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream (granulated por powdered sugar)
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Heat water and butter to a rapid boil in a saucepan over medium heat to medium-high heat.
Add flour and reduce heat to low. Stir constantly, using a wooden spoon, for 1 minute or until a soft dough forms.
Remove pan from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat with a spoon until completely mixed in before adding each additional egg. It doesn't seem like the eggs will incorporate, but they WILL. Just be patient!
Scoop balls of dough (I use a medium cookie scoop) and place onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up.
Let cool for 30 minutes on cooling racks (room temperature).
While cream puffs cool, make whipped cream. In a large mixing bowl, by beat heavy whipping cream and sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Slice off the tip of each cream puff and gently remove the insides of each cream puff.
Fill a pastry bag or ziploc bag with cream mixture and pipe filling into each cream puff. Replace tops.
Store cream puffs in refrigerator.

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