Sugar-Free Cream Puffs

Grab this amazing recipe to make sugar-free cream puffs. Filled with light, no sugar added whipped cream, they make a delicious low-carb dessert without sacrificing taste. Small, simple changes in a classic recipe reward you with an amazing French dessert.

If you ever wanted to master choux pastry, this is your chance!

Why? Because I will reveal the secrets and a technique for a cream puff recipe that guarantees the perfect cream choux puffs (choux à la crème in French).

Jump to:

• What are cream puffs?
• Why you should try this recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make sugar-free cream puffs
• Recipe variations
• Storage instructions
• Expert tips
• Frequently asked question
• Need to adjust your baking pan size?
• Recipe card
• Comments

What are cream puffs?

Cream puffs are light, airy, and crisp puffs made in the shape of a tiny, round "cabbage" and filled with vanilla pastry cream or Chantilly cream.

Their main key element is a beautiful choux pastry. "Choux" is a French word translated as "cabbage" and pronounced as "shoo" or "chu."

Why "cabbage"? Because a cute little puff looks a bit like cabbage if you squint, but you have to squint a lot. Smile!

Choux pastry (pâte à choux in French) is a unique pastry that is“cooked” before it is baked and uses steam created by the mixture with the eggs.

Why you should try this recipe

These healthy cream puffs are made sugar-free; the sugar-free cream filling is as light as possible.

They make a festive low carb, low-sugar treat, a dreamy dessert perfect for Valentine's Day or any other special occasion.

Playing with the amount of sugar-free whipped cream allows for cutting calories in the puff dessert.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Find the recipe card below for exact amounts and detailed instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Water: it is an essential ingredient of the choux pastry. Replace it with milk or use half of the milk and half the water if desired.

Salt: a pinch of salt enhances the flavor of the pastry.

Butter: use unsalted butter, cold or softened, and cut it into cubes.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

Eggs: use whole large eggs at room temperature. To weigh the eggs, beat them, and use a kitchen scale, how much of the mixture you need.

Flaked almonds are optional, but they bring beauty, texture, and crunchiness to the dessert.

Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of whipping cream with at least 30% fat content or heavy whipping cream with 35% fat content and higher.

Vanilla bean is the best ingredient for making whipped cream because it provides an incredible flavor without any added sugar. Replace it with ½ teaspoon vanilla extract if desired.

How to make sugar-free cream puffs

To make choux pastry, preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Take parchment paper and, with a pencil, draw 12 circles of about 1.5 inches/4.5 cm in diameter. Then turn the paper over and place it on a baking sheet/s.

Combine water, butter cut into small cubes, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to medium-high heat and wait till the mixture boils.

Once the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat. Add all-purpose flour all at once, mixing with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes smooth.

Bring the preparation back to medium to low heat and cook the pastry until it pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes (photo 1).

Transfer the pâte à choux to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Let it cool for 3 to 5 minutes.

Beat eggs for an omelet in a small bowl. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer, add beaten eggs gradually into the dough, whisking well after each addition (photo 2).

Transfer mixture (ready choux dough) to a piping bag fitted with a round tip - Ateco plain pastry tip 809.

Pipe 12 choux puffs of about 1.5 inches/4.5 cm diameter on the prepared baking sheets (covered with the parchment template).

Using a pastry brush, brush each bun with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with flaked almonds (photo 3) and bake until golden brown for 30-35 minutes without opening the oven.

Then poke each choux puff's side with the tip of a small sharp knife and bake for 4 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack (photo 4).

To make the whipped cream, use an electric or a stand mixer to whisk whipping cream with the scraped vanilla seeds until firm (photo 5).

To assemble cream choux puffs, cut each puff shell in half horizontally with a serrated knife and place the tops onto parchment paper.

Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with an open star pastry tip and pipe a rosette onto each puff's base. Cover it with cream puff tops (photo 6).

Recipe variations

Aiming to limit the carb load, only natural ingredients, including sugar-free whipped cream, are used.

While making choux pastry, it is used the only carbohydrate that is all-purpose flour.

There are also a few ways to make lighter cream puffs and cut calories in the recipe without anyone noticing.

First, make bite-sized choux puffs, piping buns of 1.5-inch/3.5 to 4 cm. Yes, by making 16 low-carb mini cream puffs approximately, you will remove about 50 calories from each choux puff.

Second, pipe a smaller rosette of the whipped cream onto each cream puff shell.

Just this tip shaves about 65 calories from each of the puffs if you make 12 of them.

Finally, you can make small 16 puffs with little whipped cream and omit flaked almonds on top of your choux dessert.

All this removes almost 100 calories from each cream puff!

Storage instructions

Choux pastry made with whipped cream is best eaten on the day of making. Don't store it for longer than 24 hours, even refrigerated.

Can you freeze cream puffs? You can freeze only the cooled, unfilled choux puffs.

Wrap them with plastic or place them in a freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.

Thaw at room temperature and crisp in the oven at 350 degrees F/175 degrees C for about 10 to 15 minutes. Let the puffs cool before assembling.

Expert tips

1. Don't boil water for a long time before adding flour: if water evaporates, it will affect the balance of the ingredients.
2. If you do not have a pastry bag, use two teaspoons to form rounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
3. Never open the oven door while baking choux puffs.
4. While assembling the puffs, place 1 to 3 fresh raspberries in the center of the puffs if desired.

Frequently asked question

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Recipe card

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 June 12, 2021. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.