Last Updated on December 5th, 2019

These delicious coffee liqueur cream puffs are made with baked choux pastry, filled with a coffee liqueur cream and drizzled with a coffee liqueur glaze.

Netflix suggested the other day that I watch The Great British Bake Off. I don’t always do what Netflix tells me to but I did in this case and I am glad because this baking reality TV show is awesome. For those of you not familiar with the program, a bunch of amateur bakers enter a several week-long baking competition held in a tent in the beautiful British countryside. They are judged by two accomplished bakers and TV personalities with the (actual and awesome) names Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

The premise may sound boring but it really isn’t, it’s very entertaining AND educational to boot! Over the course of the season I learned about all kinds of interesting pastries, some that I had vaguely been familiar with and one that I had never ever heard of (hot water crust pastry, which I will come to in a future post).

One of the pastries that caught my attention was pate a choux (pronounced “shoe”), the dough that’s used for eclairs and cream puffs. I had heard of it but never given it enough thought to develop any interest in actually making it until I saw the bake off contestants make mouthwatering eclairs. So I went to my cookbook shelf and dusted off my trusty copy of Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. It’s a great book and I have no idea why I don’t consult it more often.

I followed the CIA’s cream puff choux pastry recipe to the t and unsurprisingly it worked out beautifully. To get ideas for a filling and glaze I simply took a peak into our liqueur cabinet and didn’t have to look further than the coffee liqueur, one of my favorite dessert ingredients. I mixed it with powdered sugar for the glaze and whipped it into heavy cream for the filling. And that’s it! The preparation of everything is easy and fuss-free and the result delicious and pretty!

How to make coffee liqueur cream puffs:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Add 1 cup whole milk, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a saucepan. (There’s no need to softened the butter here because you’re going to cook the ingredients.)

3. Bring the mix to a simmer and get 1 cup sifted bread flour ready.

RECIPE NOTE: This recipe only works with bread flour, so don’t be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour. (Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour does).

4. Turn the heat down to medium, then add the flour to the saucepan and start to stir with a wooden spoon.

5. Keep cooking and stirring until the dough comes together into a ball that starts to peel away from the sides of the saucepan.

6. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and start whipping it with an electric mixer until it has cooled down to almost room temperature.

6. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time, and 1 egg white.

7. Fill the dough into a large piping bag with a round tip and pipe about 20 small dollops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

RECIPE NOTE: Note that 20 dollops will make puffs that are about 2.5 inches in diameter, which is a little larger than bite size. If you want smaller puffs, pipe 30 puffs instead and reduce the baking time at 325 degrees F. to about 10 minutes.

8. Bake the puffs at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F. and bake for another 20 minutes until the puffs are golden-brown. Let the puffs cool completely then gingerly slice them in half with a serrated knife

How to make the coffee liqueur filling:

1. Whip 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar to stiff peaks.

2. Fill the whipped cream into a piping bag and pipe it onto the bottom halves of the puffs.

How to make the coffee liqueur glaze:

1. Cover each puff with a top half, then make the glaze by whisking together 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur.

2. Drizzle the glaze on the puff tops and let it dry before serving.

More delicious coffee-flavored desserts:

• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Espresso Milkshake with Coffee Liqueur
• Coffee Macarons
• White Russian with Chai Spice-Infused Cream
• Espresso Pots de Creme
• Spiced Irish Coffee

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Coffee Liqueur Cream Puffs

These delicious coffee liqueur cream puffs are made with baked choux pastry, filled with a coffee liqueur cream and drizzled with a coffee liqueur glaze.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: coffee liqueur cream puffs, cream puffs

Servings: 20

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Choux pastry recipe adapted from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America.

Ingredients:

For the choux pastry:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bread flour, sifted
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg white

For the filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, I used Kapali
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

For the glaze:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur, I used Kapali

Instructions:

For the choux pastry:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add milk, butter, sugar and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Turn the heat down to medium, then add the sifted flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Cook, continuing to stir, until the dough starts to peel away from the sides of the saucepan.
• Transfer the dough to a bowl, then beat on medium speed until it’s cooled down to lukewarm.
• Continuing to beat, add the eggs, one at a time, then add the egg white.
• Fill the dough into a large piping bag with a large, round tip and pipe about 20 dollops onto the baking sheet.*
• Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 degrees F. and continue to bake until the puffs are golden-brown, about another 20 minutes.
• Let the puffs cool completely, then slice in half horizontally.

For the filling:

• Whip all ingredients to stiff peaks.
• Fill into a piping bag and fill into the cream puffs.

For the glaze:

• Whisk liqueur with powdered sugar and drizzle over the cream puffs.

Notes:

*Note that 20 dollops will make puffs that are about 2.5 inches in diameter, which is a little larger than bite size. If you want smaller puffs, pipe 30 puffs instead of 20 and reduce the baking time at 325 degrees F. to about 10 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.5g | Protein: 2.3g | Fat: 7.7g | Saturated Fat: 4.6g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 35mg | Sugar: 9.1g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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