Valentine Strawberry Cream Puffs (Printable Version)

Light choux pastry filled with fluffy strawberry cream and dusted with powdered sugar.

# Ingredient List:

→ Choux Pastry

01 - 1/2 cup water
02 - 1/2 cup whole milk
03 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
04 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
06 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
07 - 4 large eggs

→ Strawberry Cream Filling

08 - 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
09 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar
10 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced
12 - 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, optional

→ Topping

13 - Powdered sugar for dusting
14 - Fresh strawberries, sliced, for garnish

# Step-by-Step Instructions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar, bringing to a boil over medium heat.
02 - Remove saucepan from heat and stir in flour all at once. Return to medium heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough forms a cohesive ball and pulls away from the pan sides, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
03 - Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until the dough achieves a smooth and glossy consistency.
04 - Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 12 mounds approximately 2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.
05 - Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and fully puffed. Avoid opening the oven during baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.
06 - While puffs cool, whip the chilled cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Gently fold in diced strawberries and jam if desired.
07 - Slice each cooled puff in half horizontally. Fill the bottom half generously with strawberry cream mixture, then replace the top half.
08 - Dust assembled puffs with powdered sugar and garnish with sliced strawberries if desired. Serve immediately for optimal texture and temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They look like you spent hours at a French bakery, but they're actually forgiving enough for a relaxed afternoon of baking.
  • The combination of crispy pastry shell and pillowy cream center hits that perfect texture contrast that makes you want to eat more than one (fair warning).
  • You can prep the cream filling hours ahead, so last-minute entertaining becomes genuinely manageable.
02 -
  • The moment your dough pulls away from the pan sides is your signal to stop stirring; overworking it at this stage can make your puffs dense instead of airy.
  • Never fill the puffs more than a couple hours before serving, or the pastry will soften and lose that satisfying crisp exterior that makes them special.
03 -
  • Pat your diced strawberries completely dry on paper towels before folding them into the cream, or they'll release liquid and make the filling runny.
  • Room temperature eggs mix into the dough far more smoothly than cold ones, so pull them from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you start baking.
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