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Choux au Craquelin (Crispy French Cream Puffs)

Choux au craquelin with pastry cream on a white plate.
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Choux au craquelin is a crispy choux pastry with a crunchy topping, filled with a light, airy pastry cream. It is a fun twist on a French classic, choux à la cream.

Ingredients

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For craquelin:

  • 1.4 oz. (40 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons (50 g) brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch of salt

For the choux pastry:

  • 1/2 cup + 1/2 tablespoon (125 g) water
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 oz. (60 g) unsalted butter  (with gelatin)
  • 2/3 cup (80 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (125 g) eggs (see note #1)

For the cream filling:

Instructions

  1. To make craquelin, in a mixing bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt with a rubber spatula until creamy. Add the softened butter and knead with your hands for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  2. Form a ball of dough with your hands and place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover with another parchment sheet and roll the dough into a rectangular shape about 1/6-1/7 inch (4 mm) thick. Ensure the rolled dough fits 12 disks 2.2 inches (5.5 cm) in diameter.
  3. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and bring it to the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Then, get the dough to room temperature and let it warm up for a bit.
  4. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out rounds 2.2 inches (5.5 cm) in diameter, keeping them as close together as possible. Remove the scrapes, and freeze the cut-outs again. Avoid cutting close to the edges of the dough, as it may be rolled out thinner than the rest.
  5. Gather the scraps, re-roll them between two sheets of parchment paper, freeze, and cut new rounds. Keep the craquelin rounds in the freezer until ready to use.
  6. To make choux pastry, preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line two baking trays with parchment.
  7. To make the choux puffs uniform, create a template. Using a pencil and a 2-inch (5 cm) round cutter, draw 12 circles 2-3 inches apart. Turn the paper upside down and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat with a second piece of parchment paper. Fix each sheet at the corners with a small amount of choux paste.
  8. Transfer the choux pastry dough into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco plain pastry tip 809). Hold the pastry bag vertically and apply pressure to pipe the puff. Once the puffs have reached the desired size, release the pressure on the piping bag and make circular motions to cut the dough. Continue the same piping technique to pipe the remaining choux apart.
  9. Take the craquelin cut-outs from the freezer and place them on top of each choux, pressing them slightly to stick. Bake the choux pastry for 35-40 minutes, one tray at a time. Let the baked choux cool on a wire rack.
  10. To make choux pastry filling, follow the French pastry cream recipe.
  11. To assemble choux au craquelin, select a filling technique for choux au craquelin:
    • The pipe-in technique requires creating a small hole in the bottom of each choux and using a pastry bag with a small tip, such as the Ateco plain tip 8, to pipe in the filling.
    • The sandwiching approach involves slicing the choux bun with a serrated knife, piping the cream filling onto the bottom, and sealing it with the top. You may cut the bun in half or leave the top as 1/3 of the choux bun. Use your favorite tip, for example, an open star pastry tip.
  12. Serve right away or refrigerate.

Notes

  1. 125 g whole eggs, approximately equal to 2.50 whole large chicken eggs (eggshell removed).
  2. Measure ingredients with a kitchen scale rather than measuring cups for accurate and precise baking results.
  3. If the craquelin dough softens, return the baking sheet to the freezer for 5 minutes, then continue. 
  4. The size of the craquelin circle determines how much of the cream puff it covers. To partially cover the choux puff, opt for the same diameter of the craquelin disk and choux mound. To cover the whole cream puff with craquelin, ensure the craquelin round is about 0.4 inches (1 cm) larger than the piped cream puff. 
  5. Don't open the oven door while baking choux puffs. 
  6. Cool the pastry well before filling it with the cream.
  7. Nutrition information doesn't include the filling cream.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/choux-au-craquelin-recipe/