Valentine Strawberry Cream Puffs (Printer version)

Light choux pastry filled with whipped strawberry cream and dusted with powdered sugar, perfect for celebrations.

# What You'll Need:

→ Choux Pastry

01 - 1/2 cup water
02 - 1/2 cup whole milk
03 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
04 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
06 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
07 - 4 large eggs

→ Strawberry Cream Filling

08 - 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
09 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar
10 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced
12 - 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, optional

→ Topping

13 - Powdered sugar for dusting
14 - Sliced strawberries for garnish, optional

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
03 - Remove from heat and stir in flour all at once. Return to medium heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the saucepan sides.
04 - Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
05 - Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 12 mounds approximately 2 inches wide onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.
06 - Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Avoid opening the oven door during baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.
07 - While puffs cool, whip chilled cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Gently fold in diced strawberries and jam if desired.
08 - Slice each cooled puff in half horizontally. Generously fill the bottom half with strawberry cream mixture, then replace the top.
09 - Dust puffs with powdered sugar and garnish with sliced strawberries if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The choux pastry is forgiving if you know the one trick that changes everything (spoiler: steam is your friend).
  • Strawberry cream filling tastes like summer condensed into a bite, and people always assume you spent hours making this.
  • You can prep the pastry shells hours ahead and fill them just before serving, which means less last-minute stress.
02 -
  • If your puffs deflate slightly after coming out of the oven, don't panic—this is normal and won't ruin them once they're filled with cream.
  • Make the choux pastry dough on a day with lower humidity if possible; very humid days can affect how the pastry puffs.
  • The strawberry cream filling must stay cold, so work quickly when assembling, and serve immediately or refrigerate until the last moment.
03 -
  • Room temperature eggs beat into the pastry dough more evenly than cold eggs, creating better lift and a more consistent crumb.
  • If you accidentally open the oven while the puffs are baking and they start to deflate, close the door quickly and give them the full baking time anyway—they'll recover more than you'd expect.
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