Matcha Cream Puffs Without Craquelin

For small matcha pastries to fill, these simple cream puffs put the tea in the cream rather than the dough. The recipe makes ten, without craquelin, filled with matcha pastry cream. Allow 4 hours 47 minutes, including baking and the cream's rest.

• Preparation 40 minutes
• Baking 47 minutes
• Cooling 1 hour 20 minutes
• Resting 2 hours
• Total time 4 hours 47 minutes
• Makes 10 cream puffs
• Tools an oven, a saucepan, two bowls, a shallow dish, a whisk, a spatula, a fine sieve, plastic wrap, two piping bags, a baking sheet, parchment paper, a rack, and a knife

We add Matcha Essence to the cream once the shells are prepared. If you want a small cake with no cream filling, matcha financiers put the tea into an almond batter.

Matcha cream puff ingredients

• About 1/2 cup (125 ml) water for the choux dough
• 1.8 oz (50 g) butter for the choux dough
• 2.6 oz (75 g) wheat flour for the choux dough
• 2 eggs for the choux dough
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk for the cream
• 1.8 oz (50 g) sugar for the cream
• 0.88 oz (25 g) cornstarch for the cream
• 2 egg yolks for the cream
• About 4 tsp (8 g) matcha for the cream

How to make the cream puffs and matcha cream

1. Heat 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk in the saucepan for about 5 minutes, until it begins to simmer.
2. Whisk 2 egg yolks with 1.8 oz (50 g) sugar in a bowl.
3. Sift 0.88 oz (25 g) cornstarch and about 4 tsp (8 g) matcha over the mixture.
4. Stir until the cream is smooth.
5. Gradually pour the warm milk over the egg mixture.
6. Return the mixture to the saucepan.
7. Stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until thickened.
8. Transfer the cream to a shallow dish.
9. Press plastic wrap directly against its surface.
10. Cool the cream at room temperature for 30 minutes.
11. Refrigerate the cream for at least 2 hours.
12. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C).
13. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
14. Pour about 1/2 cup (125 ml) water and 1.8 oz (50 g) butter into the rinsed saucepan.
15. Heat for about 2 minutes, until simmering.
16. Take the saucepan off the heat.
17. Add 2.6 oz (75 g) wheat flour all at once.
18. Stir until the dough forms a ball.
19. Return the pan to low heat for 2 minutes to dry the dough.
20. Transfer the dough to a bowl.
21. Cool for 5 minutes.
22. Mix the first egg into the dough.
23. Mix in the second egg.
24. Transfer the dough to a piping bag.
25. Pipe ten spaced mounds onto the baking sheet.
26. Bake for 35 minutes at 355°F (180°C) without opening the oven door.
27. Cool the puffs on a rack for 45 minutes.
28. Loosen the cold cream with a whisk.
29. Cut the top off each puff with a knife.
30. Transfer the matcha cream to the second piping bag.
31. Fill each puff with matcha cream.
32. Replace each top.

Let the dough dry in the saucepan for two minutes before adding the eggs. If it stays too moist, the puffs may collapse in the oven. Wait for the shells to cool before filling them too: the cream has already had its rest.

Which tea belongs in the pastry cream?

For the ten puffs, we choose Matcha Essence for pastry cream, since a tea chosen for drinking alone would show fewer of its nuances in milk. About 4 tsp (8 g) matcha is sifted with the cornstarch, leaving fewer clumps in the filling.

How are these different from craquelin cream puffs?

No cookie disk covers these puffs. Craquelin puffs need an extra topping dough; here, the shell stays simple and receives cream after cooling.

Our tip. Fill the puffs just before serving. Cream left inside the shell for too long softens it and reduces its contrast with the filling.

Allergens. Wheat, eggs, and milk.