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+ servings
Matcha cream puffs surrounded by cherry blossoms

Matcha Cream Puffs

Author: Gail Ng
Crunchy choux au craquelin cream puffs filled with matcha diplomat cream with a matcha pastry cream center
5 from 38 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield 8 cream puffs
Category Desserts
Cuisine French

Ingredients
  

Matcha Pastry Cream

  • 3 large eggs
  • 75 g granulated sugar
  • 4 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 450 ml milk
  • 1 tablespoon matcha powder, culinary grade
  • 45 g unsalted butter, softened & cubed

Craquelin

  • 60 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 40 g granulated sugar
  • 60 g all-purpose flour

Choux Dough

  • 60 g unsalted butter
  • 60 g water
  • 60 g milk
  • 70 g all-purpose flour
  • 125 g whole eggs, about 2.5 large eggs

Matcha Diplomat Cream

  • 150 g whipping cream
  • 290 g matcha pastry cream, about half of what you made

Instructions
 

Matcha Pastry Cream

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and cornstarch until combined. Set aside.
  • In a small pot, heat milk on medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Sift in matcha powder and whisk to combine. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously to temper the eggs. 
  • Pour the entire mixture back into the pot and return it to medium heat. Keep stirring constantly for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens into a custard-like consistency. If you drag a spatula through the pastry cream, it should part and then come back together after 1-2 seconds. 
  • Stir in butter cubes one at a time until all melted and combined. Push the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve (optional but recommended) into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap right onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely and store in the fridge for later.

Craquelin

  • In a small bowl, use a silicone spatula to cream together the softened butter and sugar until it becomes a smooth paste. Mix in flour until it becomes a soft dough.
  • Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press together to form a flattened disc.
  • Fold the plastic wrap on top of the dough (to prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin) and use a rolling pin to roll it out to about ⅛" thick. Freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight until it is a solid sheet.

Choux Dough

  • Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a small pot, melt together butter, water, and milk on medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Bubbles must be coming to the surface. Add the flour in all at once and quickly stir it together right away until it forms a soft dough.
  • Keep stirring the dough around the pot, flattening it out, and spreading it around for about 4 minutes to dry it out. It should look like dry mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes until barely warm to the touch.
  • Add in the eggs ⅓ at a time, stirring until the dough has absorbed the eggs in between additions. It will look like it's curdled for a bit but just keep stirring until it's smooth and slightly shiny. Your dough is at the right consistency when you scoop it up with a spatula and let it drop back into the pot and it leaves a V-shaped piece of dough on the spatula.
  • Use a 2" cookie/ice cream scooper to scoop the dough out onto your baking sheet, leaving 3" between each choux.
  • Take your frozen craquelin sheet out and use a 2" round cookie cutter to cut out discs. Place the craquelin discs on top of each choux dough mound. 
  • Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Turn it down to 350°F and bake for another 25-30 minutes until puffs are golden brown. In the last few minutes of baking, use a chopstick to poke a hole into each puff to release any steam inside. Let cool completely before using a serrated knife to cut the tops off (optional).

Matcha Diplomat Cream

  • While the choux puffs are cooling, prepare the fillings. In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat whipping cream until it becomes almost stiff peaks.
  • Add in half of the matcha pastry cream you made earlier and use a silicone spatula to gently fold in an upwards motion to combine without deflating too much air out of the whipped cream.
  • Transfer the diplomat cream and the remaining half of the pastry cream into separate piping bags and snip the tips off the bags.
  • Pipe the diplomat cream into the cooled choux shells until about ⅘ full. Insert the tip of the pastry cream piping bag right into the middle of the diplomat cream and pipe the pastry cream directly into the center of the cream puff until full. 
  • Use any remaining diplomat cream to pipe a simple design on top of each cream puff. Serve immediately or within an hour of assembling.

Notes

  • Choux dough: Crack 3 eggs into a small bowl, whisk together, and then weigh out exactly 125g of eggs into a second small bowl. Keep the remaining bit of eggs just in case your choux dough is too dry (in which case, add a tiny bit of egg at a time until you achieve the right consistency).
  • Filling: If you don't want to cut off the tops of your choux buns, you can fill the cream puffs from the bottom. Poke a hole in the bottom of each bun with a chopstick and pipe the filling into it until it feels heavy and the cream slightly pushes back out when you remove the piping tip. 
  • Make in advance: I recommend making the craquelin and matcha pastry cream the day before so that they have time to freeze and chill overnight. Make the choux pastry fresh on the day of serving and make the diplomat cream while the choux buns are cooling.
  • Serving: Cream puffs are best served immediately or within 1-2 hours after filling. If you prefer, you can also freeze them for 30 mins to 1 hour before eating, not until they are solid but just firm, and they will taste like matcha ice cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 214mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 1228IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 2mg
Keywords green tea cream puffs, matcha choux, matcha choux au craquelin, matcha cream puffs
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