These light and fluffy Lemon Cream Puffs are made with homemade pâte à choux and filled with sweet, velvety lemon cream. They're a delicious and elegant dessert, perfect for the holidays or special occasions.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why You'll Love This Cream Puffs Recipe
• 🛒 Ingredients for Cream Puffs
• 🔪 How to Make Lemon Cream Puffs
• 💡 Tips for Making Pâte à Choux
• ☑️ Storage Instructions
• 🍴 Ways to Use Pâte à Choux
• 🔄 Dessert Cream Puffs Filling Ideas
• Why Are My Cream Puffs Not Fluffy?
• How Do You Keep Cream Puffs from Getting Soggy?
• What Is the Difference Between Choux Pastry and Cream Puffs?
• Why Did My Cream Puffs Collapse?
• 🍽️ More Dessert Recipes

❤️ Why You'll Love This Cream Puffs Recipe

• Easy-to-follow pâte à choux recipe
• Light as air, fluffy classic cream puffs
• Filled with homemade, velvety lemon cream
• Perfect as an elegant dessert for special occasions 

Cream puffs are a classic and elegant pastry that’s perfect for just about any occasion. But if you’ve ever bought them from the store, you may have ended up with a stale dessert that lacked that true cream puff texture. The good news is that you can make them fresh by following a few simple instructions.

The lemon cream puffs are light and airy, with a velvety smooth and slightly tangy lemon curd cream filling. That combination of delicate pastry and zesty sweetness makes these cream puffs a very impressive dessert, so much better than store-bought.

If you have leftover lemon curd, put it to good use with other impressive desserts like this Keto Lemon Curd Layer Cake or these Mini Keto Lemon Curd Tarts.

🛒 Ingredients for Cream Puffs

• All purpose flour
• Whole eggs
• Unsalted butter
• Water
• Whole milk
• Granulated sugar
• Salt
• Heavy cream
• Lemon curd
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Lemon zest

*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

🥣 Recommended Tools

• Hand mixer
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Piping bag with tip
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

🔪 How to Make Lemon Cream Puffs

To Make the Pâte à Choux

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Add the milk, water, sugar, salt, and butter to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat, add the flour, and stir until all the flour has been absorbed.  Return to the heat and continue stirring for 2 minutes to cook off that raw flour taste.

Add the dough to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool for 2 minutes while you prepare your pan.

Add parchment paper to a baking sheet, get a piping bag ready, and fit it with a large round tip.  If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a large food storage bag with the tip cut off.

Mix the dough using a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes to continue to cool it down.

Once it has cooled, mix in the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to be fully mixed into the dough before adding the next one. 

Continue mixing until the dough falls back on itself and is smooth. It should be very thick and somewhat elastic.

Add the dough to your piping bag, then pipe out small mounds, making sure to leave about 2 inches between each one.  Wet the tip of your finger and gently press down to flatten the tip so that it doesn’t burn.

Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until they are golden and puffed up. Try not to open the oven to check on them until it’s been at least 20 minutes. I use the oven light instead to keep an eye on them.

Add the cream puffs to a cooling rack. 

Cut a small slit in the upper side, about ⅓ of the way down, and ideally where you will be cutting the tops off. This allows the steam to escape, so they can cool down faster and dry out.

To Make the Lemon Cream Filling

Add your mixing bowl to the freezer for 10 minutes while you gather the ingredients.  Mixing cream in a cold bowl will help the cream whip up much better.

Pour the cold cream into your mixing bowl and whip to soft peaks. Slowly add in the sugar while you are still mixing, and once you have stiff peaks, add in the vanilla extract.

Mix just until combined, then gently fold in the lemon curd in 3 additions so that you don’t deflate the whipped cream. In the last addition, add the lemon zest.

Add the mixture to another piping bag fitted with the star tip of your choice. 

Once the cream puffs have cooled, slice off the tops of each one, setting them aside to be placed back on once they have been filled.

Pipe some of the lemon cream into the well of each cream puff, then add the tops back on.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to cut the tops off, you can instead insert the tip of your piping bag into the slits that you cut to allow for steaming and fill each one that way.

Right before serving, you can add an optional dusting of powdered sugar over the tops.

💡 Tips for Making Pâte à Choux

• It's so important to cool the dough down before adding any eggs; otherwise, the eggs could scramble and ruin the dough.
• Be sure to allow the dough to absorb each egg fully before adding the next egg. You'll know it's time when you see the dough come together.
• When you're ready to pipe the dough onto the parchment paper, if it's too runny, chill it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. This will make it easier to pipe out.

☑️ Storage Instructions

Place the cream puffs in an airtight container or wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Before serving, allow them to come to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. This will help them to crisp up a little.

You can also freeze them for a month or so. Just make sure the container is properly sealed to keep out any moisture and to prevent freezer burn.

🍴 Ways to Use Pâte à Choux

• Pigs in a blanket: Wrap small cocktail sausages with Pâte à Choux before baking. Serve with mustard or your favorite dipping sauce.

• Jalapeño popper bites: Add diced jalapeños and cream cheese to the Pâte à Choux. Bake until they are golden brown.

• Peanut butter and jelly puffs: Fill the puffs with all-natural peanut butter and some of this homemade Strawberry Chia seed jam for a fun twist on a classic.

• Cheesy puffs: Add grated cheese to the Pâte à Choux before baking. Bake into small puffs and serve as cheesy appetizers with this homemade marinara.

• Buffalo chicken bites: Fill Pâte à Choux rounds with some of this buffalo chicken dip for a spicy appetizer.

• Ham and cheese puffs: Cut Pâte à Choux in half and place a thin slice of ham and cheese in the center. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

• Caprese puffs: Give these French pastries an Italian twist by filling them with fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced tomato, and fresh basil. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

🔄 Dessert Cream Puffs Filling Ideas

• Chocolate Nutella-filled puffs: Add some of this chocolate Nutella mousse to the baked and cooled puffs.

• Whipped cream: Sweetened, light, and fluffy, whipped cream is a classic choice. Sweeten it with a bit of powdered sugar or sugar substitute, and add vanilla extract for flavor.

• Pastry cream (crème pâtissière): You can make an easy, creamy custard cream flavored with vanilla, cocoa, coffee, or fruit extracts.

• Chocolate ganache: Ganache adds a simple and decadent touch to the center. Or you can drizzle it over the tops of the cream puffs and add a scoop of ice cream for profiteroles.

• Fruit fillings: Top cream puffs with a spoonful of raspberry jam, blackberry jam, strawberry chia seed jam, or even fresh mixed berries.

• Lemon curd: Tangy lemon curd or key lime curd adds a delightful zing to cream puffs.

• Salted caramel sauce: Fill the cream puffs with whipped cream and drizzle with some of this salted caramel sauce.

• Coffee or espresso cream: Add a pinch of coffee extract or espresso granules to the whipped cream or pastry cream.

• Coconut cream: Make a coconut-flavored filling by adding coconut cream or coconut extract to whipped cream. Add shredded coconut for more coconut flavor.

Why Are My Cream Puffs Not Fluffy?

The main reason is undercooking the pâte à choux before baking. When preparing dough on the stovetop, be sure to keep cooking and stirring until the flour absorbs all the liquid. This helps to develop the dough. Another cause of flat cream puffs is cooking the puffs at too low a temperature.

How Do You Keep Cream Puffs from Getting Soggy?

You need to bake the cream puffs until golden brown. This acts as a foundation for the filling and prevents the puffs from getting soggy. Piercing them right after they come out of the oven helps prevent this as well, by allowing the steam to escape. This is a key step!

What Is the Difference Between Choux Pastry and Cream Puffs?

Choux pastry is the dough used to make a variety of different pastries. Cream puffs are one specific type of pastry made with this dough.

Why Did My Cream Puffs Collapse?

If your cream puffs collapse, it means there was too much moisture, either in the dough or by not cooking them long enough to dry them out.

🍽️ More Dessert Recipes

• Chia Seed Pudding
• Gluten-free Apple Cake
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
• Homemade Apple Sauce
• Mango Mousse
• Pecan Pie Cheesecake
• Stollen Pastries