Valentine Strawberry Cream Puffs

# What You'll Need:

→ Choux Pastry

01 - 1/2 cup water

02 - 1/2 cup whole milk

03 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

04 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

05 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

06 - 1 cup all-purpose flour

07 - 4 large eggs

→ Strawberry Cream Filling

08 - 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled

09 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar

10 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

11 - 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced

12 - 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, optional

→ Topping

13 - Powdered sugar for dusting

14 - Sliced strawberries for garnish, optional

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

02 - In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

03 - Remove from heat and stir in flour all at once. Return to heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides, approximately 1-2 minutes.

04 - Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until smooth and glossy.

05 - Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 12 mounds approximately 2 inches wide onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.

06 - Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and puffed. Do not open the oven during baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.

07 - While puffs cool, whip the chilled cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Gently fold in diced strawberries and jam if using.

08 - Slice each puff in half horizontally. Fill the bottom half generously with strawberry cream, then replace tops.

09 - Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with sliced strawberries if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -

They look impossibly elegant but the technique is more forgiving than you'd think, especially once you nail the choux pastry.
Fresh strawberries and whipped cream mean you're never more than a few minutes away from having something restaurant-worthy on the table.
The whole process, from oven to plate, takes about an hour—perfect for when you want to impress without spending all day in the kitchen.

02 -

The dough will look shaggy and impossible when you first add the flour, but keep stirring and it will transform into a ball—trust the process and don't give up.
Never skip the cooling step before adding eggs; warm dough will scramble them instead of incorporating them smoothly.
If your piping bag is fighting you, just use a spoon to drop mounds instead; they'll look rustic rather than perfect, but they'll taste just as delicious.

03 -