Go Back
+ servings
Mini egg cream puff with mini eggs scattered around

Mini Egg Cream Puffs

Author: Gail Ng
These mini egg cream puffs are filled with a smooth chocolate pastry cream in a crunchy choux au craquelin shell and topped with whipped white chocolate and mini eggs to resemble a cute chocolate bird's nest
4.67 from 3 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Chilling Time 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 45 minutes
Yield 10 cream puffs
Category Desserts
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

Craquelin

  • 60 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 40 g sugar
  • 60 g flour

Choux

  • 60 g unsalted butter
  • 60 g water
  • 60 g milk
  • 70 g all-purpose flour
  • 125 g eggs (about 2 ½ large eggs)

Chocolate Pastry Cream

  • 2 large eggs
  • 50 g granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 300 g milk
  • 150 g dark chocolate, melted

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

  • 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 220 g whipping cream

Toppings

  • 1 package of chocolate mini eggs
  • 1 tablespoon ground hazelnut flour, optional

Instructions
 

Craquelin

  • In a small bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with a spatula until smooth.
  • Add in the flour and mix until combined and a soft dough comes together.
  • Dump dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Roughly form dough into a flattened disc. Loosely place another sheet of plastic wrap on top.
  • With a rolling pin, roll the dough out until about ⅛ inch thick. Chill in the freezer until frozen solid.

Choux

  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • In a small pot, heat the butter, water, and milk on medium heat until it comes to a simmer.
  • Pour all the flour into the pot and quickly stir with a spatula until a dough forms.
  • Keep flattening and moving the dough around the bottom of the pot on medium heat to dry it out (about 4 minutes). The dough should resemble mashed potatoes. Remove pot from heat.
  • Cool the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is barely warm to the touch.
  • Add the egg to the choux dough a third at a time, stirring between each addition. It will look curdled at first but just keep stirring and adding the rest of the egg. The dough is at the right consistency when you drop it from the spatula and the dough leaves a V-shape hanging off the spatula.
  • Transfer the choux dough to a piping bag and snip off the tip of the bag to create a ½ inch opening.
  • On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pipe dollops about 1 inch in diameter and 1 inch tall. Leave at least 3 inches in between each dollop for when the choux inflates (about 6 on each baking sheet).
  • Take the frozen craquelin sheet of the freezer and use a 2 inch round cutter to cut discs out. Place one disc on top of each dollop of choux batter. 
  • Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 25-30 minutes. About 2 minutes before the puffs are done baking, use a chopstick to poke a hole in each puff to release the steam. Bake until the puffs are browned on top and walls are stiff. Cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
  • In a small pot, heat the milk on medium heat until it begins to simmer. Slowly pour the hot milk into the bowl of eggs while whisking continuously and vigorously. 
  • Pour the mixture back into the pot on medium heat and keep whisking until it thickens into a custard.
  • Stir in the melted chocolate until completely combined.
  • Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
  • Once cooled, transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag and snip off the tip when ready to use.

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

  • In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and whipping cream until smooth and melted.
  • Remove the bowl from the double boiler and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  • When the ganache has chilled and thickened, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to whip it until it becomes stiff peaks.
  • Transfer the white chocolate whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip.

Assembling the cream puffs

  • With a serrated knife, cut the tops off of each choux puff (about ⅓ of the way from the top).
  • Pipe the chocolate pastry cream into the choux cavity, angling the piping bag towards walls to ensure the cream fills the cavity completely.
  • Pipe the whipped white chocolate on top of the cream puff, starting from the middle and working outwards.
  • Sprinkle the middle of the cream with ground hazelnut meal (optional).
  • Place 4-5 mini eggs on top of each cream puff.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 246mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 806IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 3mg
Keywords chocolate cream puff, choux au craquelin, choux au craquelin cream puff, cream puff recipe, easter dessert recipe, mini egg cream puff, mini egg recipe
Tried this recipe?Leave a rating & comment to let us know how it was and tag your Instagram posts with @teakandthyme!