These Funfetti Choux au craquelin are the perfect fun treat. The top is a funfetti crisp filled with funfetti pastry cream and then topped with whipped cream.
What is a choux au craquelin:
Choux is also called pâte à choux. It is a delicious pastry that uses a French technique that makes the pastry puff and is light and fluffy but hollow on the inside. If you’ve had cream puffs, and eclairs it’s the same thing. It’s just a choux pastry filled and topped with different components.
A craquelin is primarily made with flour, brown sugar and butter. It’s topped on each choux before baking giving the choux pastry more flavor and a crunchy exterior.
Why You’ll love this recipe:
I love making choux pastry. It’s a relatively easy and a satisfying pastry to make. You get to see the pastry poof and that’s when you know that you’ve made it correctly. I have more detailed steps and tips below, so make sure to take a look at them also. The pastry is then filled with pastry cream or diplomat cream, but it can just be filled with whipped cream if that’s your preference. And the best part is the craquelin, it’s crunchy and sweet and goes so well with the pastry and the filling.
The Funfetti part is what I enjoyed the most with this funfetti choux au craquelin. I love the speckled colors you see on the craquelin and the funfetti flavor you achieve when you bite into the funfetti choux au craquelin.
Once you’ve mastered the choux pastry you can customize it to your liking. Fill the choux with your favorite filling, and pipe the choux to any size you desire.
Funfetti Choux Au Craquelin Ingredients:
Scroll down to see the full recipe with measurements.
Choux Pastry:
- Water/Milk: Both are used to create a rich choux pastry
- Butter: Use unsalted, doesn’t have to be room temperature as it will be cooked on the stove
- Flour: I used bread flour in my recipe
- Eggs: I use large eggs in all my baking
Variations for Choux Pastry Ingredients:
Water/Milk: The original way I learned to make choux in pastry school called for water, but while experimenting with this recipe I preferred to use half water and half milk. Why? Milk creates a darker choux, so if you used all milk you would have to make sure to not bake at such a high temperature to reduce the burning of the baked choux. Milk also having more fat than water creates a richer dough, so that’s why the recipe calls for half water and half milk. You can completely use water in this recipe if desired, the results will still be delicious.
Butter/Oil: I haven’t experimented with any other fat besides butter, but i would assume using a neutral oil like vegetable oil would create the same kind of dough, it may be slightly softer in texture and less flavorful just like in other baked goods. Coconut would also be a great alternative if you were looking to use a different type of fat.
Flours: All-purpose, Cake and Bread Flour all have different protein levels. The protein levels will change the structure and the overall taste of the chou au craquelin. If you wanted a softer choux au craquelin then I would use the cake flour. The bread flour creates a stronger and chewy structure. And then all-purpose flour is a good in-between. So even if you don’t have bread flour you can substitute it with either flour to still achieve a good choux dough.
Craquelin:
- Butter: Use unsalted room-temperature butter
- Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but coarse raw sugar or dark brown sugar can be used.
- Flour: Just an all-purpose flour here is fine
- Funfetti sprinkles: You can substitute this with any sprinkles you like. But note that it will spread as you roll the dough out.
Pastry Cream:
- Milk: Full fat milk is highly recommended
- Granulated sugar
- Egg yolks
- Cornstarch
- Imitation Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Sweetened Whipped Cream:
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
How to make Funfetti Choux Au Craquelin:
Choux pastry dough doesn’t require a stand mixer or hand mixer but will make the work just a little easier.
Prepare Choux:
Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, and unsalted butter over medium heat. Bring to a simmer until the butter melts.
Remove the saucepan from heat and quickly stir in the bread flour with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms.
Return the saucepan to low heat and cook the dough for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. This helps dry out the dough. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
With a small bowl, crack four eggs in the bowl, whisk until evenly mixed, and set aside until needed. (Save the 5th egg unless needed)
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer add the choux dough. Use the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes until it’s warm enough to not cook the eggs.
Gradually add egg mixture, one-third at a time, stirring well after each addition, until the dough is smooth and glossy. Your dough is ready when you pick up the batter with a spatula and the batter creates a “V” shape.
Transfer dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe mounds of desired size choux dough onto the prepared baking tray, leaving space between for it to expand. (I recommend piping 2-2.5 inches for the perfect size.)
Craquelin
In a mixing bowl, cream together the soft butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add all-purpose flour and continue mixing until well combined. Fold in the Funfetti sprinkles until evenly distributed. The dough should be a little dry but don’t worry it will come together.
Place the Craquelin dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness.
Place on a small baking tray and then place into the freezer for 10 minutes or until it’s firm.
Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circles slightly larger than the piped choux pastry mounds.
Carefully place the funfetti craquelin disc on top of the choux pastry, gently pressing down to make it stick.
Baking Funfetti Choux au craquelin
Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce the heat to 375. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the choux pastry is golden brown and puffed up. Avoid opening the oven door during baking, as it may cause the pastries to collapse.
Once baked, remove the funfetti choux au craquelin from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Pastry Cream
In a medium pot, heat whole milk on medium low heat until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cornstarch to reduce any clumps, and then mix in the egg yolks until smooth. The mixture will be thick.
Slowly pour in 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture at a time, whisking constantly to temper the eggs until all the milk has been mixed in.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until it thickens into a pastry cream consistency.
Remove from heat and stir in the extracts and butter until well combined. Transfer the pastry into a clean bowl over an ice bath and place plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream making sure it touches to reduce a film from forming. Once cooled set in the refrigerator until needed.
Whipped Cream
In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Place whipped cream into a pastry bag with a star piping tip and refrigerate until needed.
Funfetti Choux au craquelin Assembly:
Once the choux pastry shells have cooled, cut the top of the choux and fill the choux au craquelin with the pastry cream.
Pipe a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top of the pastry cream and then top it off with the top piece of the choux.
Storage:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve within 24hrs of filling.
Leftover unfilled choux pastry can be left on the counter in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Place them into a freezer-safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Funfetti choux au craquelin troubleshooting and FAQS:
How do I know when my choux is ready to take off the stove?
As you stir the choux dough it will form a ball. The dough will also form a thin layer of film on the bottom of the pan.
Why did my Choux deflate?
It’s most likely slightly underbaked and needs a couple more minutes in the oven.
My Choux is not hollow and didn’t rise why?
There isn’t a one easy answer. It can be caused from baking at a low temperature, which is why the oven temperature is so high and then once it gets baked the temperature is dropped.
Another reason can also be due to improper mixing. Now improper mixing can be a lot of things. It can be due to the overcooking of dough on the stove, adding the eggs too quickly and cooking the eggs in the process. If you added too much egg and the batter begins to get runny this can also prevent the choux from baking correctly.
But I promise if you fail the first time try again because it’s a easier than think! Another reason can also be due to the craquelin being too thick and heavy and it doesn’t allow the choux to fully puff up to it’s full potential.
Why does the recipe call for 4 to 5 eggs?
The amount of egg used is determined by how much liquid was cooked off from the dough. The flour used and the size of the eggs will also determine how many eggs to use also.
How can I make my funfetti choux au craquelin crispy again?
Bake them in a preheated 350F oven for 5 to 10 minutes until it crisp again. Allow them to cool before filling.
There are so many recipes out there and different techniques used to make the perfect choux pastry. This is the best choux pastry recipe that works for me.
If you’ve made this funfetti choux au craquelin please make sure to share and tag OfJensweets on Facebook and Instagram.
Funfetti Choux Au Craquelin
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter 1 stick
- 1 Cup Bread Flour
- 4-5 Large Eggs see notes*
Funfetti Craquelin
- 5 tbsp Butter
- 4 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 3 tbsp Funfetti Sprinkles
Pastry Cream
- 2/3 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 6 large Egg Yolks
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Choux Pastry
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, and unsalted butter over medium heat. Bring to a simmer until the butter melts.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and quickly stir in the bread flour with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms.
- Return the saucepan to low heat and cook the dough for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. This helps dry out the dough. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- With a small bowl, crack four eggs in the bowl, whisk until evenly mixed, and set aside until needed. (Save the 5th egg unless needed)
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer add the choux dough. Use the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes until it’s warm enough to not cook the eggs.
- Gradually add egg mixture, one-third at a time, stirring well after each addition, until the dough is smooth and glossy. Your dough is ready when you pick up the batter with a spatula and the batter creates a “V” shape.
- Transfer dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe mounds of desired size choux dough onto the prepared baking tray, leaving space between for it to expand. ( I recommend piping 2-2.5 inches for the perfect size.)
Funfetti Craquelin
- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add all-purpose flour and continue mixing until well combined. Fold in the Funfetti sprinkles until evenly distributed.
- Place the Craquelin dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness.
- Place on a small baking tray and then place into the freezer for 10 minutes or until it’s firm.
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circles slightly larger than the piped choux pastry mounds.
- Carefully place the funfetti craquelin disc on top of the choux pastry, gently pressing down to make it stick.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce the heat to 375. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the choux pastry is golden brown and puffed up
- Once baked, remove the funfetti choux au craquelin from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Funfetti Pastry Cream
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch to reduce any clumps, and then mix in the egg yolks until smooth
- In a medium pot, heat whole milk on medium heat until it just begins to simmer.
- Slowly pour in 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture at a time, whisking constantly to temper the eggs until all the milk has been mixed in.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until it thickens into a pastry cream consistency.
- Remove from heat and stir in the extracts and butter until well combined. Transfer the pastry into a clean bowl over an ice bath and place plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream making sure it touches to reduce a film from forming. Once cooled set in the refrigerator until needed.
Whipped Cream
- In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Place whipped cream into a pastry bag with a star piping tip and refrigerate until needed.
Assembly
- Once the choux pastry shells have cooled, cut the top of the choux and fill the choux au craquelin with the pastry cream.
- Pipe a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top of the pastry cream and then top it off with the top piece of the choux.
Notes
Nutrition
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