Cream Puffs Recipe – Filled with Spiced Ice Cream and Topped with Salted Caramel

These cream puffs are a showstopper—crisp choux pastry filled with spiced ice cream and finished with a drizzle of salted caramel. They’re perfect for a summer get-together, offering a refreshing, creamy bite that’s anything but ordinary. But thanks to the warmly spiced ice cream—infused with a very British blend of cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, allspice, cloves, coriander seeds, and star anise—they also feel right at home during fall gatherings or even Christmas celebrations. It’s a dessert that straddles the seasons beautifully, and one you’ll want to make again and again.

I have been making cream puffs for as long as I can remember. For whatever reason I have never had a problem making them. I use the recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook (that link goes to the 1981 edition. Click HERE for the updated version.) As you can tell from the page above, it has been very well used!

Cream Puffs Recipe

Makes 12 (I doubled the recipe in Betty Crocker)

For the Cream Puffs

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 eggs at room temperature

For the Spiced Ice Cream

• 1 quart milk
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 cup brown sugar, divide
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 TBS vanilla
• spice bag with cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, allspice, cloves, coriander seeds. star anise (I don’t measure the cardamom, allspice, cloves, and coriander. I just pour about half a teaspoon of each. One cinnamon stick, one star anise)
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Salted Caramel (to see this recipe minus the salt go to Simple Caramel Sauce):

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 TBSP of butter
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp sea salt/salt to taste

Make the ice cream (to see this recipe in action go to Spiced Ice Cream Sandwiches):

If you don’t want to make ice cream just purchase a pint of your favorite flavor

• Make a spice bag; add the spices to a small piece of cheesecloth and tie closed.
• Add the quart of milk, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, spice bag, vanilla and salt to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
• Heat the milk until bubbles just start to form on the side.
• While the milk is heating whisk together the egg yolks and remaining brown sugar.
• When the milk is ready remove it from the heat.
• Add a ladle full of milk to the egg yolk mixture whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Do this two more times.
• Return the milk to the heat.
• Add the egg mixture to the milk and whisk it in to combine.
• Heat the custard until it coats the back of a spoon.
• Strain the custard into a bowl and cool completely. Before you add the base to your ice cream maker stir in the heavy cream.
• After you run the ice cream through your ice cream maker let it harden in the freezer until you need it to fill the cream puffs

Make the salted caramel:

• Heat the sugar in a heavy bottomed 2-to-3-quart pan (you need a good pot for this, don’t mess around. You need even, steady, and hot. As it starts to melt, keep stirring. Once it boils, STOP stirring.
• As soon as the sugar melts and it is a lovely amber color toss in the butter and stir/whisk until the butter is melted. It will foam up when you add the butter. Don’t worry!
• Once the butter has melted pull the pan from the heat, count to three, then slowly add the cram to the pan and whisk to incorporate. It will foam up again!
• The foaming up is why you need the deep pan.
• Whisk until the sauce is smooth and cool slightly in the pan then pour into a glass mason jar or the like and let sit to room temperature.
• It will store for up to two weeks– as if it would last that long.
• Makes just over a cup.

Make the Cream Puffs:

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Heat butter and water to a rolling boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.

• Add flour and stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball.

• Add eggs all at once. Remove from heat.
• Mix with a hand mixer until the mixture begins to come together

• then beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

• Drop batter onto ungreased baking sheets in dollops of about 1/4 cup
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes until puffed up and just starting to turn golden brown.

• Remove to a wire rack to cool.
• Slice into each puff to release the steam.

• After about 5 minutes cut the top off of each puff and pull out any wet insides and discard.
• Let cool completely before filling.

Finish the Cream Puffs

• Fill each puff with ice cream, add the top and drizzle with salted caramel sauce.

How Were The Cream Puffs with Spiced Ice Cream and Salted Caramel?

Do you have to ask?

They were seriously good. The puff base was crisp; the ice cream was full of all of those lovely spices with the vanilla in the background. The salted caramel was the perfect complement. These really would make a wonderful desert for a special dinner. They are not that hard to make, and you can fill them with sweet or savory fillings. Imagine a shrimp mousse for example. Yummy, right? Or a vanilla pudding.

You can just go so many ways with a base as basic as a cream puff.

Comments? Questions? You can leave them HERE