Cream Puffs or Eclairs With Vanilla Pastry Cream

What an interesting and delicate recipe! I set out to make some eclairs for my DH and was suprisingly pleased at the results. The choux pastry was easy enough to make. I put the batter into a zip bag and cut the corner off of one side to "pipe" my eclair shapes onto my cookie sheet. Baked off for about 35 minutes and then cut the slit in the side, as directed, and baked 10 minutes longer. The shells came out perfectly brown and crispy.
The vanilla cream was a little more challenging, but only because I was afraid of scrambling the eggs. It turned out great, but I did run it through a strainer (just in case). I agree with some reviewers that the cream is a little thin, after adding the whipped cream. Next time, I believe I will try just 1 cup of heavy cream whipped.
Thank you so much pattikay for posting this recipe and making me feel like a gourmet chef and hero for the day with my hubby :) (Will be making these again in a week :))

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these were easy and really good! the only thing i MIGHT change next time is to omit en egg for the choux. i thought the finished product left a little egg taste? maybe i did something wrong? didn't beat them enough? also, i would double the choux.. i had SO MUCH cream left over--we're having waffles for dinner to use it up! haha thanks so much!

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The pastry is great and the cream is tasty but much too runny and thin. I need to figure out a way to have the pastry cream be as tasty but have more filling capabilities. The pastries themselves have been a huge hit though, light and airy and super tasty. Thanks pattikay!

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I made this recipe in bulk for an event last night- they turned out great! I made 24 small puffs per recipe (vs. the 12 larger). I think because of that the baking time was significantly different. about 25 minutes to start, then about 7 after the slit cut in, and I did not finish by letting them dry in the oven. They turned out great without that. The pastry cream is time consuming by easy to make- just be sure to temper the eggs really well before adding them to the boiling milk mixture and you shouldn't need to strain the cream in the end. Everyone really enjoyed this version of a lighter pastry cream- it was delicious but not quite as rich- really nice. Thanks for a good recipe!

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Well, the flavor is very good. But, I also had trouble with the consistency of the pastry cream. It was way too thin to fill a pastry with. I hate that we had to eat the mistakes!!

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So yummy! I didn't have to strain the filling. If you temper the egg yolks really well and then whisk them in, you shouldn't have any lumps. My son likes a more custardy filling, but my niece and my husband said these are the best cream puffs they've ever had. I think I may have under-baked the puffs a bit, but it didn't matter at all. Excellent recipe!

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I still have my old Illustrated Good Housekeeping cookbook with this recipe, which I have used many times. A delicious pastry!

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I think I must have done something wrong here (or maybe just should have noticed the review that said add more flour to make a thick filling). While the custard looked very thick and the whipped cream seemed firm enough, when I folded them together, they got sort of drippy. Not the sort of thing I could fill pastry with, but went just fine with some berries when I had to go to Plan B.

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I've been making this recipe for about 20 years and it is the all-time favorite of my adult children. It was originally from the Illustrated Good Housekeeping Cookbook. There is no other cream puff filling that rivals this one. It does take a long time to make..... but worth it. I recommend increasing the amount of flour in the filling, so it is thick enough to form a somewhat-firm filling. The Wisconsin State Fair is famous for their cream puffs and they are only filled with plain old sweetened whipped cream - such a disappointment compared to these. If they didn't take so long to make, I'd go into business and sell them - they would go like hotcakes!

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I hope that there is room in that closet for me too Janet, because I am joining you. Would you like a napkin? These are GREAT :-)

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I LOVE cream puffs which is exactly why I don't make them often because I'd be found hiding in the closet with telltale traces of filling dripping down my chin and these were no exception. Choux Paste is not as hard as many think so if you've never made these homemade, this is the recipe to start with. The pastry cream is easy to do; just pay attention to it and it will be fine. It is also versatile enough that I think it would hold up to things like a square of chocolate being added if you wanted chocolate cream filling. Just a great filling all around! I added a half teaspoon of Almond extract along with the vanilla but otherwise made no changes. I also used a chocolate sour cream glaze I have always used for cream puffs. These were so good. Look for me in the closet if you need me.

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These are sinfully delicious! I made the custard the night before and then made and added the whipped cream while the puffs were cooking. Make sure you really beat the choux paste after the addition of each egg. I also needed to cook the puffs much less than the 50 minutes.

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Very good cream puffs. The pastry cream is really yummy, too. Kind of messy to eat. Next time I might try filling a pastry bag and squeezing the filling in to the puff that way. Thanks for the memories, Pattikay! Jessica

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I made these for our Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday (because the 6 pies we had just weren't enough...hee hee) and they were SO good. I made 24 smaller puffs instead of 12 big ones and there were just perfect - about 3-4 bites worth. Instead of using just vanilla extract, I used one vanilla bean in the pastry cream, scraping the seeds out and adding them to the milk mixture. Then I added about 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp of sugar to the heavy cream when whipping it. Hubby insisted I drizzle them with melted chocolate, so I did that too. The result was a very scrumptious, not overly sweet, little morsel of pastry heaven. The recipe is very easy and even though it takes a bit of time from start to finish (due to cooling, chilling, etc) it's not difficult at all. The choux and the pastry cream could totally be prepared in advance and then assembled before serving. I think the fact that my family asked if I had bought these little treats is a testament to their quality. Wonderful recipe pattikay! I'll use it again.

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this is really yummy! i will make it for my mom this Christmas - she LOVES pastry cream, and i'm sure she'll love this.. thanks a lot, pattikay!

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These are delicious cream puffs - the vanilla pastry cream is outstanding, just like the other reviewers have said. They are better than you could find in any bakery. Made for ZWT3 2007.

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My darling daughter made these as a treat for Fathers Day and we all were very pleased with the tasty results. Since it was her first attempt at this type of recipe, we used prepared puff pastry. But she carefully prepared the vanilla cream as directed and patiently worked out the lumps through a strainer. All the effort was well worth it! Yum!

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Was searching for a good recipe for cream puffs, decided to try this one and it is FABULOUS! It has the best vanilla flavored cream filling, better than any bakery I've found. OH many raves over this recipe. Simple and delicious. I will be making these again and again. Too Good! Thanks for sharing. Made for ZWT3 ~V

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I have made Cream Puffs MANY times but the Pastry Cream in this recipe is the best I have ever had! I was so simple to make and so were the cream puffs. I only cooked my puffs for 25 minutes, then when I took them out to slit a hole in them I only had to put them back in the oven for 5 minutes instead of 10. I made them fairly small but next time I will make them larger. Thanks for the great recipe Patti Kay!

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Boy was this a challenge. Needed the help of Q&A for this. Probably because I've never made these before and had no idea what I was doing. Thanks to Pattikay in LA for the help and all the people in Q&A. The problem I had with this recipe is that The Choux Paste was way too thin made as directed. After 4 trys, and suggestions from Q&A, I cooked the butter/water mixture until it boiled then while it cooked added the flour all at once and cooked it for another minute or two and it finally made a ball. The rest was easy. The filling is outstanding and really impressed my company. Thanks pattikay for posting and for the tips. My baking skills are way below the standard.

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