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Chocolate Cream Puffs Recipe

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4.3 from 11 reviews

Delight in these decadent Chocolate Cream Puffs featuring a rich chocolate choux pastry filled with luscious chocolate chantilly cream. Perfectly airy puffs with a crisp shell and a smooth, creamy filling offer a sophisticated twist on a classic French dessert—ideal for impressive gatherings or luxurious everyday treats.

Ingredients

Chocolate Choux Pastry

  • 30 g Dutch cocoa powder (about 3 tbsp)
  • 140 g all purpose flour
  • 236 g water (1 cup)
  • 115 g unsalted butter (1 stick, cut into cubes)
  • 50 g white sugar (about 3 tbsp)
  • ½ tsp sea salt (less if using table salt)
  • 4 large eggs (may not use all)

Chocolate Chantilly Cream Filling

  • 120 mL heavy whipping cream (½ cup, to bloom the cocoa powder)
  • 50 g cocoa powder (5 tbsp, packed, dutched or natural)
  • 480 mL heavy whipping cream (2 cups, chilled)
  • 100 g caster sugar (scant ½ cup, adjust for sweetness)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract (or coffee extract)
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt (increase to ¼ tsp for a salty-sweet flavor)

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven and Prepare Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C). Measure and sift together the flour and 30 g of Dutch cocoa powder. Set aside.
  2. Make Chocolate Choux Dough: In a saucepan, combine water, white sugar, sea salt, and unsalted butter. Heat over medium while stirring until butter, salt and sugar dissolve and water reaches a boil.
  3. Add Flour Mixture: Remove from heat, immediately add flour and cocoa powder mixture. Stir vigorously until dough forms and absorbs all the water.
  4. Cook the Dough: Return to medium heat and cook for about 1 minute until the dough pulls away from pan sides and forms a film at the bottom.
  5. Cool and Add Eggs: Transfer dough to a bowl and cool to approximately 170°F (77°C). Whisk one egg lightly, incorporate it fully into the dough. Repeat with second and third eggs. Add the last egg incrementally until dough reaches a glossy, pipeable consistency forming a “V” shape when lifted.
  6. Pipe and Bake Pastry: Line baking sheets with parchment. Pipe dough mounds spaced 1 to 1.5 inches apart. Flatten peaks with a damp finger. Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 375°F (190°C) and bake 15-20 more minutes without opening the door.
  7. Finalize Baking: Rotate trays after 25 minutes, bake an additional 5 minutes until tops harden, prick each shell with a toothpick, then bake 3-5 more minutes to dry out.
  8. Cool Choux Pastries: Remove from oven, prick pastries again, and allow to cool completely in a draft-free environment.
  9. Bloom Cocoa Powder: Heat 120 mL heavy cream to simmer, remove from heat, whisk in 50 g cocoa powder until smooth thick paste forms. Cover and chill for about 1 hour.
  10. Prepare Chocolate Cream: Gradually mix an additional 120 mL heavy cream into the cocoa paste to loosen it. Transfer to mixing bowl with remaining 360 mL chilled cream. Whisk lightly to combine.
  11. Whip Chantilly Cream: Add sea salt and vanilla extract, begin whisking at medium speed. Gradually add caster sugar. Whisk until medium peaks form, taste and add more sugar if desired. Continue whisking slowly until stiff peaks form, then gently fold to even out texture.
  12. Fill Choux Pastries: Cut off the top third of each cooled puff. Remove inner webbings lightly with a spoon or finger. Fill a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip with the chocolate chantilly cream.
  13. Pipe and Assemble: Pipe cream into the puffs generously. Replace pastry tops over the cream, allowing decorative swirl to show.
  14. Serve and Garnish: Dust filled cream puffs lightly with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Consume within 24 hours for best freshness.

Notes

  • Use fresh, cold eggs to achieve proper dough consistency.
  • Be careful not to add too much egg to the dough to avoid flat puffs.
  • Do not open the oven door during most of the baking time to prevent collapse of the puffs.
  • Choux pastry is best served the same day it is filled to maintain crispness.
  • Adjust sugar amounts in whipped cream to personal taste preference.
  • Make sure to cool the cocoa paste completely before mixing with heavy cream to avoid deflating the cream.
  • Use a piping bag with a large tip for easy dough shaping and cream filling.
  • Proper drying of the choux shells at the end of baking is essential to avoid soggy interiors.

Find it online: https://marthatasty.com/chocolate-cream-puffs-recipe/