easy desserts & recipes: crunchy cookie topped cream puffs & profiterole’s & choux cream puffs
Cream puffs, profiterole, or as it is known in Japan, “choux cream puffs”, are a gift from the gods! There are so many types of pastries but no other can be as delectable as choux cream puffs.
We oftentimes fail to think about just how such a delicious creation has come to pass because we are always enthralled with the burst of scrumptiousness whenever we bite into any pastry, most especially a choux puff. Pastries have been made to intoxicate the senses and it especially affects one’s senses of smell, sight, and taste. The choux cream is no exception. Its origin and the name “profiterole” is ambiguous, but many sources have traced it to North Eastern Italy, and this term has graced man’s lips in English and was borrowed from the French as early as the 16th century. At the time, it was a kind of roll that was baked under the ashes.
The cream puff as it is known in America has been a staple in restaurants since 1851, maybe even earlier. Choux (pronounced as “shoe”) literally means “cabbage” in French. The choux cream resembles a head of baby cabbage and most likely is named after the vegetable.
The art of creating delicious pastries is a gift in itself but it also takes a far greater talent to tweak masterful recipes into something much more. Over the years there have been several variations to the choux cream and some of them really stand out! One in particular is the cookie topped choux puff. For anyone who loves custards and cream, this is a match made in heaven. The choux cream’s light and fluffy texture, rich creamy custard filling, combined with the cookie topping is a delicious combustion just waiting to happen in your mouth!
For the regular version without the crunchy cookie top, check it out here.
When testing this recipe, we used a combination of both recipes and directions below.
Crunchy Cookie Top Cream Puffs
Recipe adapted from Cookpad.Cookie Dough
- Butter 30g
- Sugar 30g
- Cake Flour 30g
- Diced or Sliced Almonds 30g
Note: You can use almost any eggless sugar cookie recipe.
Cream Puff Pastry
Also Adapted from The Joy of Baking- 1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) (57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
- 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).
- Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. With a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.
- (for cookie crunch top place the cookie dough, crumbled as cut with a cookie tin, square or circle is fine, place evenly on top of choux pastry dough). Here is the link to the pictures of how you can apply the cookie dough before baking.
- 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 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).
Japanese Cookpad Recipe
(follow same directions for the Choux Pastry above from Joy of Baking)- Water 100g
- Cake Flour 60g
- Butter 50g
- 2 Eggs whipped
Cheese Custard Filling
- Milk 200g
- 1 Vanilla Beans (remove vanilla bean paste from beans)
- 2 Egg Yolks
- Cake Flour 10g
- Cornstarch 5g
- Granulated Sugar 100g
- Cream Cheese 100g
- Cointreau 10g
Directions
- Place Cookie Dough Divided Evenly onto of the uncooked Choux Pastry.
- Preheat Oven to 200c For cook for 20 Minutes
- Turn down the oven to 180c and bake for 40 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies
July 3, 2012 at 5:47 am //
When we visited Japan a few years ago, getting cream puffs from Beard Papa was on our to-do list and we never got around to it. This photo is absolutely gorgeous–I wish I could reach out and grab one of them!
myfudo
July 3, 2012 at 5:58 am //
I would absolutely love to know the secret recipe to their luscious custard inside! They are popping up all over in the US, Italy, Canada, here is a list of their locations http://muginohointl.com/locations, my favorite is the cookie top, in Japan, every shop has their version of the cookie crunchy top, but I really, really love the Paris Brest which is a Twist on the Spanish Churro. It’s hard to avoid them since they are on every corner here in Tokyo, it takes a lot of restraint!!! “wink”
myfudo
July 3, 2012 at 6:03 am //
p.s. here is the plain version without the cookie crunch =)
http://www.yumgoggle.com/2011/12/easy-desserts-recipes-choux-a-la-creme-profiterole-meet-marie/
Winnie
July 3, 2012 at 8:17 pm //
OMG – it looks super tempting
I loveeeeeeeeeee these kind of pastries, but I actually never tried to make them at home
BTW – beautiful photo!
myfudo
July 3, 2012 at 9:34 pm //
I love buying ours from Bearded Papa’s, but there is so much gratification making them at home too =) (once in a great while)
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
July 3, 2012 at 10:02 pm //
Your picture is fantastic! I never bake choux paste yet love it every time I bite into it.
Akemi
July 3, 2012 at 11:22 pm //
The pics are ultra gorgeous and I would like to reproduce the recipe but when do I use the cookie dough? Thanks!
Akemi
July 3, 2012 at 11:25 pm //
Sorry, now I saw the instructions on the cookpad version! :P
myfudo
July 4, 2012 at 7:37 am //
No worries, I shifted the directions around a bit, I can see how we placed it, it might be confusing =) We followed the Joy of Baking Recipe but just applied the cookie dough right before baking. There are slight differences in the Japanese Choux recipe and the Joy of Baking, but both came out well when I tested the cookpad one last year, very good recipe, and Joy of Baking more recently.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
July 3, 2012 at 11:23 pm //
These puffs look totally divine!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
July 3, 2012 at 11:32 pm //
A bit confused with the recipes…
I just saw the directions of making choux pastry. The first Cookie Dough recipe…when did you put them on choux pastry?
myfudo
July 4, 2012 at 7:29 am //
Hi Angie, you can place the cookie dough on top of the pastry right before baking. We should put the directions up with the recipe so it’s not confusing, our apologies =)
myfudo
July 4, 2012 at 7:30 am //
The cookie down can be crumbled on top or cut with a cookie cutter in circles/squares and the placed on top of the choux pastry.
Emma
July 4, 2012 at 9:34 am //
Yum! These look absolutely gorgeous and such a perfect shape.
kitchenriffs
July 4, 2012 at 10:40 am //
Boy, I have made cream puffs in years! So good, and so easy. Like the crunchy cookie twist. Beautiful picture.
myfudo
July 5, 2012 at 8:22 am //
Why not combine both, the love of that cookie crunch with choux pastry =)