Gluten Free Cream Puffs - Light and Fluffy Cream Puffs Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Why are my cream puffs not fluffy? ›

There are multiple reasons why cream puffs may deflate. The first cause is undercooking. When preparing dough on the stovetop, be sure to keep cooking and stirring until a film forms on the bottom of the saucepan. Another cause of flat cream puffs is lowering the temperature during baking.

Remove and oven and let puffs cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack before filling. For best results, use puffs with 24 hours, or wrap airtight and freeze. Unfilled puffs may be stored in an airtight container for several days, but first cut them open and remove the strands of dough to prevent sogginess.

Light and airy cream puffs, filled with thick pastry cream, fluffy whipped cream, or velvety crème légère (pastry cream lightened with whipped cream), are a classic dessert. Composed of just two versatile elements—pâte à choux and the filling of your choice—they're also cinch to whip up.

Why did my cream puffs collapse? If the puffs collapse it means there was too much moisture in them. So either you did not dry the dough enough, or they were not cooked enough. To avoid this I recommend drying the dough really well (see below) and cracking the door of the oven open when the choux are baked.

Troubleshooting Cream Puffs and other Pastries

There's still steam inside, and when you let it all escape before the pastry has cooled your dough might deflate. Boiled the water, butter, and sugar for too long. If there is too little water in your choux, there won't be enough steam to help the puffs inflate.

If your cream puffs are moist inside after baking, this is because they did not bake long enough. In addition, the puffs need to dry out on the inside after baking. To help the pâte à choux dry out properly, turn the cream puffs upside down and use a toothpick to poke a hole in each one.

Why did my cream puff dough collapse during baking? The interior of your pastry shells was too wet. You need to start your cream puffs at a high temperature, like 400°, to generate steam which helps provide lift.

If your batter ended up being too runny, possibly you have added a little too much eggs. To fix this, cook a paste using roughly half the choux recipe (water, milk, flour, butter similar to how you started).

My choux puffs are too small/too dense/have no cavity/have too small a cavity. If any of the above describes your choux, there's not enough egg in your batter. Choux paste is a simple concoction with no chemical leavening agent, which means it gets all its rising power from eggs.

Choux Pastry can be used in anything from cream puffs, profiteroles, and eclairs to churros, croquembouche, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, and gougères! It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and the options for filling and shaping are endless.

Can you make cream puffs without a pastry bag? ›

Or cut a 3/4-inch slit in the tip of a disposable pastry bag or the bottom corner of a large ziplock bag. If piping isn't for you, you can spoon out the dough or use a cookie scoop — my favorite tool! If you use a 1/2-cup scoop, you'll get 10 to 12 puffs.

Do the cream puffs needs to be refrigerated? Yes they do. They can stay out for about 4 hours but then need to be refrigerated.

Do unfilled cream puffs need to be refrigerated? No - they should be kept in an airtight container. Once filled, (with cream) they need to be kept in the the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. If kept, filled, in the fridge, they will go soft.

If too much egg is added or if it is added too quickly, the Choux's ability to rise when baked will be affected. Similarly, if not enough egg is incorporated, it won't puff, causing it to be dense inside.

If you've used too many eggs in your pastry dough, water in the egg yolk will start to separate from the yolk. Once the pastry is baking in the oven, this water then evaporates, causing the structure of the pastry to tighten up and shrink. The dough is too thick to pipe.