Plan a romantic night with your loved one by making this cute heart-shaped cream puffs dessert. Covered with chocolate, these lovely decorated and fancy-looking French cream puffs create a spectacular Valentine's treat. It is sure to become a showstopper!
A heart-shaped box of chocolate is a great Valentine's gift, but what about a homemade heart-shaped dessert?
A few days until Valentine's Day, I am so excited to share a great idea with you. Make this Valentine cream puffs dessert shaped like a heart and show your love.
It is quite easy to transform an ordinary dessert into a sweet treat made for a holiday.
Just use a heart cookie cutter and/or a puzzle heart cookie cutter and make these adorable Heart-Shaped Puzzle Cookies.
A heart-shaped silicone mold transforms simple friands into a delectable dessert.
A lovely stencil makes this French Chocolate Ganache Tart special that is perfect to finish a romantic dinner.
History of heart-shaped desserts
According to historians, there is one item associated with Valentine's day, which is food.
Moreover, Valentine's Day colors - pink and red - are considered to make the food romantic.
It is believed that British chocolatier Richard Cadbury was the first who made a heart-shaped chocolate box in 1868.
The first mention of a heart-shaped dessert - heart-shaped candies dipped in chocolate - goes back to 1915 when it was included in Valentine's day menu.
Later, the tradition of shaping desserts as a heart developed, and today heart-shaped desserts are truly associated with Valentine’s Day.
From these cute Valentine Cookies and White Chocolate Bark Bites to Heart Macarons and this heart-shaped cream puffs dessert, these delicious treats are sure to win hearts on that holiday.
What is a cream puff dessert?
Cream puff dessert is a sweet treat made of cream puffs, choux pastry balls filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or ice cream.
The buns/puffs may be dusted with powdered (icing) sugar or decorated with chocolate, caramel, etc.
Making a heart-shaped dessert out of cream puffs might be a new era of desserts following the trending number cakes.
Why not celebrate a birthday with a cream puff dessert shaped like a number or make a Christmas cream puffs wreath?
Why you should try this recipe
- Cream puff dessert is an excellent alternative to traditional cakes.
- Served individually, cream puffs are perfect for kids and adult parties.
- This foolproof choux pastry recipe guarantees choux puffs perfect in shape and texture.
- Using different decorations makes this dessert especially impressive.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
Eggs: the recipe calls for large whole eggs
Butter: use unsalted butter cut into pieces.
Water: use cold water to start making the choux pastry.
Flour: all-purpose flour is used for this recipe.
Salt: it enhances the flavor of the choux pastry.
Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of whipping cream with at least 30%fat content.
White chocolate: use Lindt white chocolate or Callebaut white chocolate. Replace white chocolate with milk, dark or ruby chocolate if desired.
For decoration use melted ruby chocolate, chopped pink praline, pink sugar pearls, chopped freeze-dried raspberries or freeze-dried strawberries, pearl sugar. Also, experiment with chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, etc.), gold sugar pearls, edible rose buds.
How to make these fancy cream puffs
To make choux puffs, preheat the oven to 410 F/210 C. Sift flour in a bowl and set aside.
Whisk eggs until homogeneous, pass through a mini strainer to remove chalazae, and put aside.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, place water, butter cut into small pieces, salt (photo 1), and bring to a boil.
Pour the fluid over sifted flour and combine it with a wooden spatula until homogeneous (photo 2).
Place the dough back in the saucepan and dry out the dough, stirring constantly with the spatula.
Once the dough comes away from the pan's sides (photo 3), transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl.
Mix the dough with a stand mixer or an electric mixer (with the paddle attachment), using a low speed, for two minutes to cool down.
Add beaten eggs in three to four times, mixing well between each addition. The dough has to become smooth and glossy.
Test the dough by dragging your finger or a spatula along the surface of the ready dough: the sides of this "trough" have to stay upright (photo 4).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fix it with a bit of dough at the corners.
Place the dough in a pastry bag with Ateco plain tip 804 and pipe into a bit less than 1 inch/2 cm balls about 2 inches/4 - 5 cm between each. Wet your fingertip and gently press each choux bun down (photo 5).
Bake for 20 minutes, until deep golden. Poke the base of each choux bun with the tip of a small knife, place on sides and bake 4 to 6 minutes longer. Remove from the oven (photo 6) and cool on a wire rack.
To make the Chantilly cream, break the white chocolate into small pieces. Bring whipping cream to a boil, pour over white chocolate and mix with a hand whisk (photo 7). Cover with a plastic film on contact and refrigerate overnight.
To decorate choux puffs, whisk the cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks (photo 8).
Take half of the cream, add dried strawberries powder (as much as you desire) and whisk for a few seconds to get the pink-colored Chantilly cream (photo 9).
Transfer white and pink cream in pastry bags with Ateco plain tip 8 and pipe each choux bun through the hole in the bottom until full (photo 10).
Break white and pink chocolate into pieces and place them in separate bowls. Melt chocolate in a microwave at medium power (50%) for 30 seconds.
Remove and stir the chocolate. Repeat this step every 30 seconds with stirring in between until small lumps remain.
Remove a bowl from the microwave and stir to complete melting.
Dip each choux puff into melted chocolate and dip in chopped pink praline, chopped freeze-dried strawberries, and raspberries, pink sugar pearls (photo 11).
Leave some buns covered, drizzled (photo 12), or both with plain white chocolate; leave some puffs with plain white or ruby chocolate.
Refrigerate buns for 15 to 30 minutes until chocolate sets. Arrange decorated cream puffs in the shape of a heart and serve.
Expert tips
- Use silicone baking mat instead of parchment paper.
- Bake one sheet of choux puffs at a time and decorate them while another batch of puffs is baking. Bake two sheets at once if your oven bakes regularly.
- Make choux puffs one day in advance and store at room temperature till the next day.
- Replace white chocolate in the recipe of the Chantilly cream with milk, dark or ruby chocolate.
- To make dried strawberries powder, crush freeze-dried strawberries with a food processor and make the powder using a mini strainer. Omit this step if you want to make Chantilly cream, using white chocolate only.
- Decorate cream puffs as you desire: use chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, etc.), gold sugar pearls, edible rose buds, store-bought pink crushed pralines.
- The dessert is best served within a couple of hours to keep choux puffs/shells' crispiness.
- Shape a heart out of cream puffs right after the decoration if you want to make puffs stacked one with another.
Frequently asked questions
For the best results, bake choux pastry dough fresh right away. It is not recommending to chill or freeze it.
Unfilled choux pastry can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. To restore the crispiness, reheat in the oven at 300 F/150 C for a few minutes.
Baked and unfilled choux pastry can be frozen for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature and warm up in the oven at 300 F/150 C for a few minutes to dry the moisture gained during freezing.
Love Valentine's desserts? Try these next!
- Raspberry Oreo Cheesecake
- Flødeboller – Danish Cream Buns
- French Chocolate Ganache Tart
- Browse all Valentine's Day Recipes
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PrintRecipe card
Heart-Shaped Cream Puffs Dessert
Plan a romantic night with your loved one making this cute heart-shaped cream puffs dessert. Covered with chocolate, these lovely decorated and fancy-looking French cream puffs create a spectacular Valentine's treat. It is sure to become a showstopper!
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (plus resting time)
- Yield: 13-15 1x
- Category: Choux pastry
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For the choux puffs:
- 4 large eggs
- 3.9 oz (110 g) butter
- 7.9 fl oz (235 ml) water
- 1 cup + 2 ½ tablespoon (145 g) flour
- 1 pinch of salt
For the Chantilly cream:
- 2 cups + 4 teaspoon (480 g) whipping cream
- 8.5 oz (240 g) white chocolate
For the decoration:
- 7 oz (200 g) white chocolate
- 1.7 oz (50 g) ruby chocolate
- pink praline, chopped
- pink sugar pearls
- freeze-dried raspberries, chopped
- freeze-dried strawberries, chopped
- pearl sugar
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- To make choux puffs, preheat the oven to 410 F/210 C. Sift flour in a bowl and set aside. Whisk eggs until homogeneous, pass through a sieve to remove chalazae, and put aside.
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, place water, butter cut into small pieces, salt, and bring to a boil. Pour the fluid over sifted flour and combine it with a wooden spatula until homogeneous. Place the dough back in the saucepan and dry out the dough, constantly stirring with the spatula.
- Once the dough comes away from the pan's sides, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer or a simple large bowl. Mix the dough with a stand mixer or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, using a low speed, for two minutes to cool down.
- Add beaten eggs in three to four times, mixing well between each addition. The dough has to become smooth and glossy. Test the dough by dragging your finger or a spatula along the surface of the ready dough: the sides of this "trough" have to stay upright.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fix it with a bit of dough at the corners. Place the dough in a pastry bag with Ateco plain tip 804 and pipe into a bit less than 1 inch/2 cm balls about 2 inches/4 -5 cm between each. Wet your fingertip and gently press each choux bun down. Bake for 20 minutes, until deep golden. Poke each choux bun's base with the tip of a small knife, place on sides, and bake 4 to 6 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- To make the Chantilly cream, break the white chocolate into small pieces. Bring whipping cream to a boil, pour over white chocolate and mix with a hand whisk. Cover with a plastic film on contact and refrigerate overnight.
- To decorate choux puffs, whisk the cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks. Take half of the cream, add dried strawberries powder (as much as you desire) and whisk for a few seconds to get the pink-colored Chantilly cream. Transfer white and pink cream in pastry bags with Ateco plain tip 8 and pipe each choux bun through the hole in the bottom until full.
- Break white and ruby chocolate into pieces and place them in a separate bowl. Melt chocolate in a microwave at medium power (50%) for 30 seconds. Remove and stir the chocolate. Repeat this step every 30 seconds with stirring in between until small lumps remain. Remove a bowl from the microwave and stir to complete melting.
- Dip each choux puff into melted chocolate and dip in chopped pink praline, chopped freeze-dried strawberries, and raspberries, pink sugar pearls. Leave some buns covered, drizzled, or both, with chocolate; leave some puffs with plain white or ruby chocolate. Refrigerate buns for 15 to 30 minutes until chocolate sets. Arrange decorated cream puffs in the shape of a heart and serve.
Notes
- Use silicone baking mat instead of parchment paper.
- Bake one sheet of choux puffs at a time and decorate them while another batch of puffs is baking. Bake two sheets at once if your oven bakes regularly.
- Make choux puffs one day in advance and store at room temperature till the next day.
- Replace white chocolate in the recipe of the Chantilly cream with milk, dark or ruby chocolate.
- To make dried strawberries powder, crush freeze-dried strawberries with a food processor and make the powder using a mini strainer. Omit this step if you want to make Chantilly cream, using white chocolate only.
- Decorate cream puffs as you desire: use chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, etc.), gold sugar pearls, edible rose buds, store-bought pink crushed pralines.
- The dessert is best served within a couple of hours to keep choux puffs/shells' crispiness.
- Shape a heart out of cream puffs right after the decoration if you want to make puffs stacked one with another.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 cream puffs
- Calories: 414
- Sugar: 24.1 g
- Sodium: 107 mg
- Fat: 30.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 19.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.6 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 3.7 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was originally published on February 13, 2020. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All pictures are mine.
Sadia Malik says
Love all the pretty colors!
Irina says
Thank you, Sadia. The same is here:)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
What a delicious idea for a dessert! A perfect sweet treat for Valentines Day for sure
Irina says
Thank you, Bintu! I agree with you that the dessert is so lovely... the best idea for Valentine's Day!
Veena Azmanov says
This is such an awesome platter. Amazing presentation. Definitely a Valentine treat option.
Irina says
Thank you so much, Veena!
Carrie Robinson says
Such an impressive dessert for Valentine's Day! 🙂
Irina says
Thank you, Carrie!
Chris Collins says
Totally making this for a last minute Valentine's Day treat! Thanks for the inspo 🙂
Irina says
Oh, wow! Chris, please, let me know how it went:)
Dannii says
This is so cute! I bet it would really impress on Valentine's Day.
Irina says
I agree with you, Dannii! Thanks for your comment.
Adrianne says
These are adorable and I love the step by steps photos!! Perfect for Valentines Day or a sweet treat, yum!!
Irina says
And this step by step recipe is easy to follow. Please, enjoy! Thanks for your comment, Adrianne!
Veena says
Cute, decorative and very creative. Best treat for Valentine's Day for sure.
Irina says
Thank you so much, Veena!
Heidy says
These cream puffs were seriously amazing! I loved how easy they were to make with your instructions, and the taste was out of this world!
Irina says
Thanks for letting me know that you loved this dessert, Heidy.
Kelly Anthony says
This heart-shaped cream puff dessert is perfect for anyone this Valentine's day. It will make the perfect party dessert for my kid's school!
Irina says
Wow, it is a great idea for kids' parties, too! Thank you, Kelly!
Beth says
This looks so yummy and delicious! I can’t wait to give this a try! My husband and daughter are going to love this recipe!
Irina says
Thanks for stopping by, Beth! Happy baking and enjoy it!
Traci says
Just in time for Valentine's planning and super easy to make. Thanks for sharing...so easy!
Irina says
You are very welcome, Traci!
Jessie says
Umm, these treats look amazing! Such a great idea for Valentine's day.
Irina says
Perfect! I hope you will make it, Jessie. 🙂
Jess says
They're so beautiful, perfect for Valentine's!
Irina says
Jess, thanks! Please, enjoy the recipe.
Dannii says
How cute are these! I am definitely making them for Valentine's Day.
Irina says
Sure thing, Dannii. Please, enjoy it!