Heart-Shaped Cream Puffs (Valentine's Dessert)

Quick Summary: Heart-shaped cream puffs are choux pastry buns piped or cut into hearts, then filled with white chocolate Chantilly cream and dipped in chocolate. You bake the choux hearts at 410°F (210°C) until deep golden, fill them with vanilla and pink strawberry cream, and decorate them for Valentine's Day. This recipe makes about 13 to 15 puffs, each around 414 calories.

What are heart-shaped cream puffs?

Heart-shaped cream puffs are a cream puff dessert made from choux pastry, the same light, hollow pastry used for classic cream puffs and profiteroles. Instead of round buns, small puffs are piped or arranged into a heart shape, then filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or ice cream.

Once assembled, the puffs are usually dusted with powdered (icing) sugar or decorated with chocolate, caramel, or fresh berries, which makes them a simple yet romantic dessert for Valentine's Day.

Shaping cream puffs into a heart is part of a long tradition of heart-shaped sweets. British chocolatier Richard Cadbury is credited with the first heart-shaped chocolate box in 1868, and one of the earliest heart-shaped desserts dates to 1915, when it was included on a Valentine's Day menu. Over time, shaping desserts into hearts became closely tied to the holiday, helped along by its pink and red colors.

If you like this idea, try other Valentine's sweets such as Valentine Cookies, White Chocolate Bark Bites, and Heart Macarons alongside this heart-shaped cream puffs dessert.

Why you'll love this recipe

1. Cream puff dessert is an excellent alternative to traditional cakes.
2. Served individually, cream puffs are perfect for kids and adult parties.
3. This foolproof choux pastry recipe guarantees choux puffs perfect in shape and texture.
4. Using different decorations makes this dessert especially special.

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.

Equipment

To make heart-shaped cream puffs at home, gather these basic baking tools before you start:

• medium saucepan
• wooden spoon
• fine-mesh sieve
• stand mixer
• mixing bowls
• pastry bag with an Ateco plain tip 804
• baking sheet
• parchment paper
• wire rack

How to make heart-shaped cream puffs

Step 1. To make choux puffs, preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C). Sift flour in a bowl and set aside.

Step 2. Whisk eggs until homogeneous, pass through a mini strainer to remove chalazae, and put aside. 

Step 3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, place water, butter cut into small pieces, and salt (photo 1), and bring to a boil.

Step 4. Pour the liquid over the sifted flour and combine with a wooden spatula until homogeneous (photo 2).

Step 5. Place the dough back in the saucepan and dry it out, stirring constantly with the spatula.

Step 6. 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.

Step 7. Mix the dough with a stand mixer or electric mixer (with the paddle attachment) on low speed for two minutes to cool down.

Step 8. Add beaten eggs in three to four batches, mixing well between each addition. The dough has to become smooth and glossy.

Step 9. Test the dough by dragging your finger or a spatula along the surface: the sides of this "trough" must stay upright (photo 4). 

Step 10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fix it with a bit of dough at the corners.

Step 11. Place the dough in a pastry bag with Ateco plain tip 804 and pipe into balls about 1 inch/2.5 cm, spaced about 2 inches/5 cm apart. Wet your fingertip and gently press each choux bun down (photo 5).

Step 12. 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. 

Step 13. To make the Chantilly cream, break the white chocolate into small pieces. Bring the whipping cream to a boil, pour it over the white chocolate, and mix with a hand whisk (photo 7). Cover with plastic film in contact and refrigerate overnight. 

Step 14. To decorate choux puffs, whisk the cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks (photo 8).

Step 15. Take half of the cream, add dried strawberry powder (as much as you desire), and whisk for a few seconds to make pink Chantilly cream (photo 9).

Step 16. Transfer the white and pink cream into pastry bags with Ateco plain tip 8, and pipe each choux bun through the hole in the bottom until full (photo 10).

Step 17. 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.

Step 18. Remove and stir the chocolate. Repeat every 30 seconds, stirring in between, until small lumps remain.

Step 19. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until fully melted.

Step 20. Dip each choux puff into the melted chocolate, then dip in chopped pink praline, chopped freeze-dried strawberries, raspberries, and pink sugar pearls (photo 11).

Step 21. Leave some buns covered, drizzled (photo 12), or both with plain white chocolate; leave some puffs with plain white or ruby chocolate.

Step 22. Refrigerate the buns for 15 to 30 minutes, until the chocolate sets. Arrange decorated cream puffs in the shape of a heart and serve.

Expert tips

1. Use a silicone baking mat instead of parchment paper.
2. Bake one sheet of choux puffs at a time, and decorate them while another batch bakes. Bake two sheets at once if your oven bakes regularly.
3. Make choux puffs one day in advance and store at room temperature till the next day.
4. Replace the white chocolate in the Chantilly cream recipe with milk, dark, or ruby chocolate.
5. To make dried strawberry powder, crush freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor, then make the powder using a mini strainer. Omit this step if you want to make Chantilly cream using white chocolate only.
6. Decorate cream puffs as you desire: use chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, etc.), gold sugar pearls, edible rose buds, crushed pink praline.
7. Shape a heart out of cream puffs right after decorating if you want to stack the puffs one on top of another. 
8. Serve within a couple of hours to keep the choux puffs crisp.

Recipe variations

• Strawberry cream. Fold freeze-dried strawberry powder into the Chantilly for a pink filling and a fruity flavor, as in this recipe.
• Chocolate lovers. Fill the hearts with chocolate whipped cream or pastry cream and dip them in dark chocolate instead of white.
• Craquelin topping. Add a heart-shaped craquelin (crunchy cookie top) before baking for extra crunch and a bakery look.
• Fresh fruit. Fill the puffs with plain Chantilly and tuck a fresh strawberry or raspberry inside for a lighter dessert.
• Different colors. Tint the white chocolate or cream with a drop of natural food coloring to match any occasion, not just Valentine's Day.
• Ruby chocolate. Dip the tops in melted ruby chocolate for a naturally pink, slightly tart finish.

Storing & freezing

Heart-shaped cream puffs are best eaten the same day they are filled, when the choux shells are still crisp. Once filled with cream, store them in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy them within one to two days, since the cream will soften the shells over time.

To get ahead, you can bake the empty choux hearts up to a day in advance and keep them at room temperature in an airtight container, then re-crisp them in a 300°F (150°C) oven for a few minutes before filling. Unfilled shells also freeze well for up to one month in a freezer bag. Fill and decorate them only after they have thawed and crisped up again.

Recipe FAQ

How do you make cream puffs into heart shapes?
There are two easy ways. You can pipe the choux dough into heart outlines: trace hearts on parchment paper with a pencil, flip the paper over, and pipe along the lines with a round tip. Or you can spread the dough about half an inch thick between two sheets of parchment, freeze it for 30 to 45 minutes, and cut hearts with a cookie cutter before baking.

Can you make the choux pastry dough in advance?
For best results, bake the choux dough fresh soon after making it. We don't recommend chilling or freezing the raw dough, as the puffs will not rise as well. You can, however, bake the empty shells ahead and store or freeze them.

How do you store baked choux pastry?
Unfilled choux pastry keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. To restore crispness, reheat the shells in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for a few minutes.

Can you freeze baked choux pastry?
Yes. Baked, unfilled choux pastry freezes for up to one month. Thaw the shells at room temperature and warm them in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for a few minutes to dry out any moisture gained during freezing, then fill them.

What filling works best for heart-shaped cream puffs?
This recipe uses a white chocolate Chantilly cream, split into a plain white batch and a pink strawberry batch. You can also fill the hearts with classic whipped cream, vanilla pastry cream, diplomat cream, or a fruit-flavored cream, depending on the occasion.

How many calories are in heart-shaped cream puffs?
Each heart-shaped cream puff has about 414 calories. The exact number depends on the size of the puffs and how much cream and chocolate you use to fill and decorate them.

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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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.