These pumpkin spice cream puffs are made with pate a choux, pumpkin spice craquelin, and cinnamon whipped cream. They are full of autumn flavor and are fairly easy to make. This recipe has the most amazing pumpkin spice craquelin topping that gives the cream puffs more texture and flavor. Check out the recipe below.
What are Pumpkin Spice Cream Puffs?
Pumpkin spice cream puffs consist of choux pastry, craquelin made with delicious autumn spices, and stabilized whipped cream with cinnamon.
The puffs get their pumpkin spice flavor in the craquelin. It’s a very light and warm flavor that is delicious in autumn.
If you are new to making choux pastry, I recommend reading this post here. It’s in-depth and will give you a good understanding of how to make choux dough.
How to Make These Cream Puffs
- First, start by making the craquelin. Mix all ingredients, roll out, and freeze.
- Next, make the pate a choux, pipe them, top them with craquelin, and bake.
- Make the stabilized whipped cream and fill the cream puffs.
- Chill until ready to eat, and store for up to one week in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Cream Puffs?
Yes. Once the cream puffs are filled, store them in a freezer bag or container and freezer for up to 1 month.
The stabilized whipped cream will hold up nicely once the cream puffs are thawed, so you don’t have to worry about the whipped cream turning runny.
Two Ways to Fill Them
There are two ways to fill these cream puffs. First, you can cut the cream puffs in half and pipe the whipped cream as is shown in the pictures. I used a star tip, but you can use whatever tip you have.
The second way to fill them is by poking a small hole in the bottom of each one, and then filling the puffs through the holes.
This is a great option if you want to stack or store them in the freezer. The whipped cream will stay contained in the cream puffs with no mess at all.
PrintPumpkin Spice Cream Puffs
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Pastries
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Spice Craquelin
- 127 g unsalted butter, softened (9 Tbs)
- 100 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 90 g all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 tsp)
For the Choux Pastry
- 158 ml water (2/3 cup)
- 79 ml whole milk (1/3 cup)
- 113 g unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 4 tsp powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (Morton’s)
- 136 g bread flour (1 cup)
- 4–5 large eggs
- Piping bag
- #12 tip or other similar sized tip
For the Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- 474 ml heavy cream, chilled (2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 30 g powdered sugar (1/4 cups)
- 1 packet of gelatin (2 tsp)
- 59 ml cold water (1/4 cup)
Instructions
To Make the Pumpkin Spice Craquelin
- Mix the softened butter, salt, and brown sugar, and spices with a hand mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined and creamy. Don’t whip until fluffy, it just need to be creamy.
- Mix in flour just until dough starts to come together.
- Next, roll out the craquelin choux to 1/16 – 1/8 inch thick on a piece of wax paper. Cover and freezer for at least 30 minutes.
To Make the Choux Pastry Dough
- While craquelin is chilling, prepare the pate a choux according to the recipe directions.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and pipe the choux dough in 1-2 inch mounds (depending on how large you want them). Gently flatting the tips of the mounds so that they have a flat spot about the size of a dime on top.
- Take the craquelin dough out of the freezer, and immediately cut out circles with a circle cutter to cover the tops of the choux mounds.
- If you want the craquelin to cover the entire pastries when baked, make sure the circle are slightly larger than the diameter of the piped choux pastry.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until they are deeply golden brown.
- If the craquelin is browning too fast, lightly cover with foil. Be careful though! Weight on the puffs can make them deflate, so keep the foil slightly arched over the puffs.
- When the pumpkin cream puffs come out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack and allow to cool for two hours so that they can dry out more on the inside.
To Make the Stabilized Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- Add gelatin to a small pot and add water. Let sit for 1 minute. Turn the burner onto low and heat the gelatin until dissolved. Do NOT continue to cook. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Pour heavy cream into a stand mixer bowl that has been chilled. Begin whipping on medium high speed, and add the powdered sugar and cinnamon after 1 minute.
- Once the whipped cream reaches soft peaks, slowly pour in the melted gelatin, and continue to whip until heavy cream has reached almost stiff or completely stiff peaks.
- Slice pumpkin cream puffs in half and pipe in the whipped cream. Or alternately, poke a hole in the bottom of each cream puff and fill with the cinnamon whipped cream so that it’s not visible. Chill cream puffs in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to a month.
Notes
This is a Baker Street Society original recipe.
Keywords: pumpkin spice cream puffs, pumpkin spice, craquelin, stabilized whipped cream
