Recipe for homemade cream puffs

Cream puffs are a favorite of many in class and at children's birthday parties. When the plastic tray of samba cream puffs was passed around the classroom, and you had to make the difficult choice: with or without coconut?! That's probably still the case in many Danish elementary schools. But the recipe for cream buns is actually not at all Danish. It is said to originate from Scotland or the USA, probably brought to Denmark sometime in the late 1800s. Considering the number of cream buns that must have been eaten in this country since then, it can probably be called a classic Danish dish. Homemade cream buns taste absolutely fantastic, and very much better than those from plastic boxes. 

TIP: Also try this recipe: brownie muffins with raspberry mousse or the best strawberry pie 

How do you make cream puffs?

Cream puffs consist of a foam of Italian meringue, spread on a base (typically made of marzipan, biscuits or waffles) and covered in chocolate. Italian meringue is a foam of sugar and egg white. A syrup of sugar, glucose syrup and water is heated to around 117 degrees, and egg whites are whipped together with a little sugar. The hot syrup is then whipped into the stiff egg whites until the mixture cools down, resulting in a chewy and airy meringue. Italian meringue is a stable foam that is easy to shape and spray onto the bases you choose for your cream puffs. Once your meringue has set, the cream puffs can be dipped in chocolate without the foam falling off the base. Then the chocolate just needs to harden, and the cream puffs are ready to serve 

TIP: Also try this popular banana bread or rhubarb pie with marzipan or Cookies with edible flowers.

Equipment and kitchenware for homemade cream puffs

It's incredibly simple to make homemade cream puffs, but there are some things you can't do without: Thermometer: You need a thermometer, such as a meat thermometer or sugar thermometer, to measure the temperature of the sugar syrup. It is important that it is at the right temperature so that the foam has a good consistency. And it is almost impossible to know by just looking at/taking time on the sugar syrup. You will have to measure the temperature. Electric whisk: Cream puffs need to be whipped well and for a long time. So there's no point in trying to do it by hand. Use an electric whisk or mixer with a whipping function for this purpose if you don't want to risk getting your upper arms all sour.

Ingredients for homemade cream puffs

Homemade cream puffs can be made in a wide variety of flavors. Here are some ideas and tips for ingredients for the most delicious homemade cream puffs:

Cream puff base

First of all, you need to choose your cream puff base. In this recipe, it is made with a marzipan base, which consists of marzipan that is rolled out with powdered sugar (so that it is not sticky). Then cut out round bases before baking them lightly crispy in the oven. Other suggestions for bases for cream puffs could be: 

• Marie biscuits
• Homemade cookies
• Waffle bases
• Brownie cut out in round circles
• Wreath cake
• Macaroons

Cream puffs with flavor

Cream puffs consist of an Italian meringue. The basic ingredients here are egg whites, sugar, syrup and water. But you can easily give the foam a different color and flavor by using a liquid other than water and by adding some kind of flavoring.

• Egg whites - It is important that you weigh them so that you get the right amount. You can use pasteurized egg whites if you prefer.
• Sugar - Plain sugar works best. Coconut and cane sugar will give a more unstable meringue.
• Glucose syrup - Used to make a good sugar syrup that does not create sugar crystals in the foam.
• Liquid: Here it is a good idea to use water for completely neutral, classic cream puffs. However, you can easily replace the liquid with something else to give the cream puffs flavor. For example, try coffee, red juice, passion fruit juice or similar.
• Flavorings: In this recipe, vanilla beans are added, but you can also play with licorice powder, freeze-dried berry powder, cocoa powder and the like.

Chocolate coating for cream puffs

To coat the cream puffs, you need chocolate. Dark, light, white or even the pink "ruby" chocolate. The recipe also adds a little cocoa butter to the coating chocolate. This makes it a little thinner, and makes it much easier to get a nice coating when the cream puffs are dipped in chocolate. You can find cocoa butter in larger supermarkets or health food stores. If you can't get your hands on cocoa butter - or you think it's too expensive - then just use chocolate alone.  Mini cream buns made with marzipan base, raspberry foam and ruby ​​chocolate Here add 1 tbsp. freeze-dried raspberry powder to the foam. 

Cream buns with marzipan base

Now you have lots of ideas for what flavor you can give your cream puffs. But an absolute favorite is the classic one: Vanilla foam, dark chocolate and marzipan base. A combination that just tastes absolutely delicious. So simple and so good. 

TIP: Also try healthier sweets like these healthy cookies, the good bean brownie or one healthy snickers cake.