Windbeutel Recipe (German Cream Puffs)

Quick Summary: Windbeutel are German cream puffs made from light choux pastry, split and filled with sweetened whipped cream and a quick cherry sauce. The name means wind bag, a nod to their airy, puffed shells.

Windbeutel, a German specialty, is similar to eclairs and other choux pastry desserts, but without the chocolate glaze. They are made with the same type of "cooked dough" called Brandteig in German.

What are Windbeutel?

Windbeutel are German cream puffs made with choux pastry (pâte à choux) and filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, or even ice cream. Similar to French choux à la crème, their name means "wind bag," referring to their light, hollow shape.

German Windbeutel are typically larger than French cream puffs, measuring about 3-3½ inches (7.5-9 cm) in diameter, as seen in the famous Jumbo Cream Puffs served at Schmidt's Sausage Haus.

Why you'll love this recipe

• A German classic. Windbeutel are one of the best-loved German pastries, a staple in coffee shops across the country, and now you can make them at home.
• Simple choux pastry. They belong to the same family as chouquettes, choux au craquelin, Paris-Brest, and gougères, all made from a single easy choux dough.
• Made with basic ingredients. The German cream puff recipe (Windbeutel Rezept) uses everyday pantry staples and comes together without special equipment.
• Endlessly customizable. Fill them with anything from sugar-free whipped cream to pastry cream or quark, and finish with chocolate, icing sugar, or fresh fruit.
• Great for desserts too. Shape them small to build a pretty mini Windbeutel dessert with quark cream and fresh berries.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

• Water: Tap or filtered water is essential for making the classic pâte à choux. If preferred, you can replace it with milk or use a mixture of milk and water. Make sure to use cold water or milk.

• Salt: A pinch enhances the pastry's flavor.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature, and cut it into small cubes.

• Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, bleached or unbleached. If you live in Germany or can access a German grocery store, opt for wheat flour type 550. In general, choose flour with a protein content of 11-14%.

• Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature. To weigh the eggs, beat them with a mini whisk, then use a kitchen scale to determine how much of the egg mixture you need. One little egg is used for the egg wash.

• Heavy cream or heavy whipped cream with at least 30% fat is essential for whipping.

• Sugar: Use white granulated or caster sugar.

• Vanilla bean is optional and adds flavor to the sweetened whipped cream. Replace it with ½ teaspoon vanilla extract if desired.

Recipe variations

While the Windbeutel recipe is straightforward, let's discover some variations.

• Piping: Using a fluted piping tip with a piping bag when making Windbeutel in unique shapes.

• Topping: Top your cream puffs with decadent chocolate ganache or chocolate glaze. Or try these sugar-free cream puffs topped with toasted flaked almonds for an even more delightful way to indulge.

• Filling: Start with classic sweetened whipped cream to make traditional German cream puffs. Then experiment with ice cream making ice cream puffs. Finally, try to fill your choux puffs with Bavarian cream to make Bavarian cream puffs.

In the end, treat yourself to delicious cream puffs with cherry filling (Windbeutel mit Kirschen) and cream, a German classic.

How to make Windbeutel

Making Windbeutel consists of a few steps: preparing the basic choux pastry dough, piping choux puffs, making the cream and cherry filling, and assembling the cream puffs.

Make Brandteig (choux pastry dough)

Step 1: To make Brandteig (choux pastry dough), preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Place parchment paper on a working surface and, using a pencil, draw 2-inch (5 cm) circles with a distance of approximately 2-2.3 inches (5-6 cm) between them. Turn the paper over and put it on a baking sheet.

Step 2: Pour cold water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add salt and butter, cut into small cubes. Bring the saucepan over medium heat and wait until it boils (photo 1).

Pro tip: Avoid using utensils to mix. The key is to ensure that the butter melts before the liquid comes to a boil.

Step 3: Remove the pot from the heat and immediately add sifted flour all at once. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture, flattening the lumps on the go (photo 2).

Step 4: Then, bring the saucepan over low to medium heat and cook, stirring until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the pot (photo 3).

Pro tip: Constantly stirring the cooked dough in a pot is called "burning off." Remove the dough (or panade in French) from the heat once it pulls away from the sides and the bottom of the pan. Otherwise, the butter may split from the dough. 

Step 5: Once the dough is cooked, transfer it to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and let it cool for 3-5 minutes.

Step 6: To help cool the dough, flatten it with a rubber spatula to increase the surface area. Or operate the mixer at low speed for 2-3 minutes.

Step 7: Beat the eggs like for an omelet in a small bowl with a mini whisk. Add the beaten eggs in a few additions, whisking the dough well after each addition with a hand whisk or a mixer.

Stop mixing when the dough reaches the right consistency (photo 4). To test, use a finger test or V-test.

Finger test: The dough is ready if the sides of the trough made with a finger stay upright and do not collapse. If they collapse, the dough is too runny (see the troubleshooting section).

V-test: Put a rubber spatula or a whisk in the dough upright, mix the dough a little, and lift the utensil. If the dough stretches, slowly separating from the rest of the dough and forming a V shape at the end of the spatula or whisk, the choux pastry dough is ready.

Step 8: Place the dough in a pastry bag with one of the large tips: a large round tip (Ateco plain pastry tip 809) or a large star tip (Ateco pastry tip 829).

Step 9: Pipe about 10-12 choux puffs, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter (or larger, depending on the tip), onto a baking tray lined with parchment (photo 5). Make sure to space them out.

Pro tip: Alternatively, you can use 2 teaspoons to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet in mounds. 

Step 10: Press down the tips of the choux mounds with a finger dipped in water, or apply the beaten egg with a pastry brush.

Step 11: Bake choux puffs in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Don't open the oven door while baking!

Step 12: After 30-35 minutes, open the oven door and prick each shell with a wooden skewer, making 3-5 holes at the bottom. Bake for another 4 to 5 minutes longer. Then, remove the shells from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack (photo 6).

Step 13: To make cherry filling, wash and pit fresh cherries. Pour water into a liquid measuring cup and measure ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 ml). Mix 3 tablespoons of water with the cornstarch until the cornstarch dissolves.

Pro tip: Alternatively, use frozen cherries or pitted sour cherries. Let the cherries thaw slightly, or drain the sour cherries, weigh them, and collect the juice. Measure the thawed or canned juice, and add some water to reach ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 ml) if necessary.

Step 14: Mix the remaining water with the cinnamon, sugar, and pitted cherries in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, or until the cherries release their juice and the sugar dissolves (photo 7).  

Step 15: Add the starch mixture, stirring constantly, and let the sauce thicken (simmer for 1-2 minutes). Remove from the stove, and allow the cherry sauce to cool completely (photo 8).

Step 16: To make sweetened whipped cream, chill the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 17: Pour the cold heavy cream into the bowl and start whisking at low speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, increasing the speed to medium, then to high, until the cream reaches medium-stiff peaks.

Pro tip: Read more about the proper whipping technique and how to make the perfect Chantilly Cream.

Step 18: To fill choux puffs, use a serrated knife to cut the tops of each pastry. Transfer the cream to a pastry bag fitted with your favorite piping tip. Spread the cherry filling on the bottom of the cream puffs (photo 9), pipe the cream (photo 10), and put the lid on top. Serve dusted with powdered sugar.

Pro tip: This type of filling cream puff is called a sandwich-style filling technique.

Windbeutel fillings and toppings

Traditionally, German cream puffs are served with the following sweet fillings:

• Sugar-free whipped cream with cherry sauce.
• Sweetened whipped cream (aka creme Chantilly), with fresh strawberries.
• Vanilla ice cream.

Expert Tips

1. Consult the Choux à la Crème recipe for more tips and tricks, and read about what to do with failed choux pastry.
2. Make sure to measure ingredients with a kitchen scale rather than measuring cups for accurate baking results.
3. Add flour to the liquid off the heat. Also, don't let the water boil for too long before adding the flour. If the water evaporates, it will affect the rise of the pastry during baking.
4. Optionally, stabilize the whipped cream with a whipped cream stabilizer (Dr. Oetker Whip It), or read about how to stabilize it.
5. Make-ahead option: Bake the cream puffs in advance and keep them unfilled in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Fill them with cream before serving or a few hours prior.

Why do Windbeutel collapse, and how do you prevent it?

Windbeutel collapse when the steam inside escapes before the shells have set. The most common causes are opening the oven door too early, underbaking, or a dough that is too runny.

To keep them tall and hollow, bake until they are deep golden and firm, and never open the door during the first 25 minutes.

For extra insurance, dry the baked puffs in the turned-off oven with the door slightly ajar for a few minutes, then pierce each one to let the steam out. Fill them only once they are completely cool, so the cream does not soften the crisp shells.

Storing & freezing

Filled Windbeutel are best eaten the same day. Because of the dairy cream, do not keep them longer than 24 hours, even when refrigerated. Unfilled choux pastry, however, freezes well both raw and baked:

• Unbaked puffs: freeze the piped mounds on baking paper for 2 to 3 hours, then bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes.
• Baked, unfilled puffs: freeze in a bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then crisp in a preheated oven at 355°F (180°C) for 5 to 7 minutes.

Recipe FAQ

What does Windbeutel mean in English?
Windbeutel translates literally as 'wind bag' in English, a playful nod to the light, hollow, air-filled choux shells. In English, the pastry is simply known as a German cream puff.

How do you pronounce Windbeutel?
It is pronounced roughly VINT-boy-tel, with a V sound at the start and the German eu pronounced like the oy in boy.

Are cream puffs French or German?
Cream puffs were created by French pastry chef Antoine Carême in the early 1700s and spread across Europe under different names: Windbeutel in Germany, Ofenkuchlein in Switzerland, and Brandteigkrapfen in Austria.

What is the difference between Windbeutel and profiteroles?
Both use the same choux pastry. Windbeutel are larger, split like a sandwich, and filled with whipped cream and fruit, while profiteroles are small, filled with ice cream, and topped with chocolate sauce.

What is the difference between Windbeutel and French cream puffs?
They are very close cousins made from the same choux pastry. German Windbeutel are usually bigger and split to be filled sandwich-style with whipped cream, while French choux à la crème are smaller and filled from the bottom with pastry cream.

What is the cream in a cream puff made of?
The most common fillings are classic pastry cream, light sweetened whipped cream, or smooth crème légère, which is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream.

How long do cream puffs keep?
Eat filled cream puffs within 24 hours, kept refrigerated. Unfilled choux shells freeze well, raw or baked, for up to 3 months.

Love choux pastry? Try these next!

What's now? Indulge in delicious choux pastry desserts with these amazing recipes:

• Paris-Brest Dessert
• Nun's Farts (French Deep-fried Beignets)
• Chouquettes
• Italian cream puffs

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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.