These gluten free Cream Puffs have a crisp outer shell with a nice large hollow in the middle, perfect for your favorite filling. The cream puffs are perfect for both sweet or savoury fillings.Which will you choose?
I will admit it now… Before having to eat gluten free, even though I was a baker, I never mastered making cream puffs.
I always had trouble with them not rising properly, or with them staying soggy in the middle.
My Grandma was really good at making them though, and if they were coming over for supper, she would whip up a batch filled either with pudding or whipped cream. This was always a treat, because my Mom never had success baking them either.
That was all in the past though. Now, I think I make a pretty awesome gluten free Cream Puff. They are crisp with a beautiful hollow in the middle, perfect for your favorite sweet or savory filling. The trick, I believe, is in making the “Pâte à Choux”, which is the dough that can be used to make Cream Puffs, gluten free Éclairs, or Crullers.
Since the dough itself has no sugar in it, you can use these gf Cream Puffs for either sweet or savory fillings. Whether you chose a rich, creamy pastry cream, or a spicy chicken salad, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Here are some tricks to making sure your gluten free Cream Puffs bake up properly:
- You have to be sure to fully incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet before adding the eggs. I like to stir the hot dough in the pan for another minute, just to dry it out a little more.
- Beat the dough for a few minutes before adding the eggs. This lets the dough cool down some before adding the eggs, because you don’t want to cook the eggs when you add them. You also need to add the eggs ONE AT A TIME, and make sure that it is fully mixed in before adding the next.
- The easiest way to beat the eggs into the dough is with a stand mixer. A heavy duty hand mixer may work, but I’ve never tried it. A good old wooden spoon would work too, I’m sure, you just have to have good arm muscles. I can’t imagine my Grandma got out her stand mixer to bake up a batch, I’m sure she used her wooden spoon or hand mixer when making cream puffs.
- Preheat your oven 10-15 minutes before you begin to mix your ingredients. You want to put your gluten free cream puffs into a very hot oven, that is what is going to help them to puff up when they bake.
- Use an oven thermometer so that you know your oven temperature is accurate. They aren’t expensive, and can save you a lot of frustration.
- Do NOT open the oven door while you are baking the cream puffs. You want to keep it as hot as possible in the oven, and opening the door will cause the temperature to drop.
- After the cream puffs have baked, crack the oven door open a little bit and turn the oven off. Let the cream puffs stay in the oven, drying out, until they are room temperature.
You can make gf Cream Puffs ahead of time:
FREEZE THE DOUGH:This dough, the Pâte à Choux, can be frozen to bake fresh gluten free Cream Puffs later.
- Spoon the dough onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once they are frozen, store in a zipper seal freezer bag.
- To bake, place frozen dough onto parchment lined baking pan, and let come to room temperature before baking (about 15 minutes). Bake the same way you would if you were baking immediately.
CRISP UP CREAM PUFF SHELLS: If you baked your cream puffs ahead of time and they got soft or soggy from storing them, you can re-crisp them before filling them. Place the empty cream puffs on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees F for 5-8 minutes. Just be sure to let them cool completely before filling them.
Looking for something besides whipped cream to fill your gluten free cream puffs with?
How about some smooth Peanut Butter Pastry Cream, or Lemon Curd?
Gluten Free Cream Puffs recipe:
Gluten free Cream Puffs
Yield: 18 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
These gluten free Cream Puffs have a crisp, outer shell, with a nice large hollow in the middle, perfect for your favorite filling.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (107 g) white rice flour
- 1/3 cup (68 g) sweet rice flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) xanthan gum
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the white rice flour, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, bring the water and butter to a boil. Once they have reached a boil, pour all of the dry ingredients in at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated, and the mixture looks similar to play dough.
- Place hot dough into a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for a minute or two to cool the dough down a bit. With the mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time. Beat dough until the egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one. When you add an egg, the dough will look like it breaks apart, but keep mixing it until it comes back together again. Repeat until all 4 eggs have been added.
- Mix on medium-high speed for 1 minute, until the dough is smooth.
- I use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to place the dough onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between cream puffs. You can use your fingers, dipped in water, to help smooth the tops of the cream puffs before baking.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the door, and pierce each cream puff with a sharp knife. This will help any steam trapped inside them to escape, giving a nice crisp cream puff. Leave the cream puffs in the oven, with the door open a few inches, until the oven has cooled completely.
- Once cream puffs have completely cooled, fill them with a sweet or savory filling. They are best served the same day, but can be stored in an air tight container. To crisp unfilled cream puffs again, place in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
Notes
FREEZE THE DOUGH: This dough, the Pâte à Choux, can be frozen to use later. Spoon the dough onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once they are frozen, store in a zipper seal freezer bag. To bake, place frozen dough onto parchment lined baking pan, and let come to room temperature before baking (about 15 minutes). Bake the same way you would if you were baking immediately.
You can also use a piping bag, or a heavy plastic bag with the corner cut off, to pipe the dough onto the parchment paper.
Recommended Products
Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Sweet Rice Flour (Pack of 6)
Ateco 230 2 7/8" Bismark Metal Piping Tip - Great for filling donuts, cupcakes, elclairs, and other pastries
Fayomir Cookie Scoop Set - Small/1 Tablespoon, Medium/2 Tablespoon, Large/3 Tablespoon - Ice Cream Scoop Set, 18/8 Stainless Steel Dough Scoop Cupcake Scoop Melon Baller
Be sure to PIN IT to your Pinterest board for later!
Disclosure:We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Recipe & images updated Feb 2016.
