A super easy way to make cream puffs. All you need is store bought puff pastry, mousse mix, and something to make it look fancy (like fresh berries) This is a great summer dessert you can throw together in no time!
Oliver saw a picture of something similar on a magazine cover when we were at the grocery store and he asked for it for dessert. Now, the fact that it was 4pm, and the dessert in question was on a magazine cover, meant that I wasn’t going to be following that recipe. I needed something fast.
So, off to the freezer aisle for some puff pastry, then to the baking aisle for some mousse mix. I am not a fan of strawberry mousse mix – it tastes like strawberry jello to me and is a dead giveaway that you didn’t actually make it. Go for vanilla and no one will know. I was outnumbered 3 to 1 by the children, so strawberry it was. Also grab something to make it look like you put more effort into it than you did, like some fresh berries.
All you do is cut the puff pastry with a cookie cutter, and if you want and you have it on hand, sprinkle on some chunky sugar. Then pop it in the oven, and while it’s baking make the 5 minute mousse (which is just mixing together the mousse mix and milk)
Now, you could have pricked all those pieces of puff pastry with a fork so that they wouldn’t puff up TOO much – but this is a recipe hack, so we don’t have time for that. Instead, just split each of the squares in half after they’ve been baked and cooled. Boom – a flat bottom, and a puffy top!
Fill the centre with the mousse, dust the tops with some icing sugar, and to fancy it up throw a dot of mousse and a berry on top. It’ll look like you spent a whole lot more than 25 minutes on these (and 15 of those they were in the oven!).
Super Easy Cream Puffs (I mean it, 3 ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 package mousse mix (recommend vanilla, but whatever you like)
- 1 container fresh berries
- Chunky sugar, like demerara sugar (optional)
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF with a rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Lay out your puff pastry and cut out as many shapes as you can with the cutter you chose (I used a 2" square). Lay them on the lined baking sheet, and sprinkle with chunky sugar if using. I also lightly press down on the sugar with the bottom of a glass to make sure it sticks.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the tops are just golden brown. Check after 10 minutes, and watch closely so that you don't over brown them. Let cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
- While the puff pastry is baking, follow the directions to make the mousse. Once the mousse is made, wash and cut your berries if needed.
- To assemble: Split the cooled puff pastry in half, so that you have a flat bottom, and a puffy top. Fill the inside with a few tablespoons of mousse (I use a pastry bag to do this). Put the top on then generously dust with powdered sugar. Add a dot of mousse and a berry on top.
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