The Reason Your Cream Puffs Continue To Fall Flat

Cream puffs shouldn't be hard. The pastry is made from few ingredients: flour, butter, water, salt, and eggs. And yet if you've ever made them, you've likely struggled with them. Maybe they came out perfectly the first time? If that's true, quit now and brag about your 100% success rate with choux pastry. But if you've made them and they haven't come out right, chances are that's because they've deflated (or never rose in the first place).

This can happen for a few reasons. The most likely is that the internal structure of the pâte à choux — the type of dough for cream puffs — didn't set right. This will set off a whole slew of issues that lead to flat cream puffs. The biggest culprits: Not incorporating the eggs enough, or dough that's too wet or too dry, or dough that was too cool when you added the eggs, or too hot when you piped it. That might sound intimidating, but there are easy markers to know you're on the right track.

Cream puffs rise in the oven because steam is creating lift inside the dough, and that rise is captured by egg and flour as they bake and harden. Without the right consistency, they either won't rise or they won't set. Dough that's too dry won't have the steam power to lift the cream puffs, and they won't form a hollow center. Dough that's too wet won't be able to harden in time to hold that puffed shape.

Assuming you're using a good recipe for cream puffs, success comes down to technique and timing. It seems counterintuitive, but when making pâte à choux, things happen really fast, and getting it just right also takes patience. First: When cooking your dough on the stovetop, the dough will come together really fast and require constant stirring — but take it off the heat too soon and you risk a floury-tasting, too-wet dough. Use your senses: It should start smelling great, it should crackle a little in the pan, and it should stick to the bottom in a light film.

Next, set it aside to let it cool to below 125 degrees Fahrenheit before adding eggs. Any hotter than that and the eggs will curdle. If you don't have a thermometer, stick your finger down into the dough: it should be warm but not hot (and be careful not to burn your finger). 

Let it cool too much, though, and the eggs won't incorporate properly — the dough should be warm. Incorporate each egg very, very well before adding the next. If it's not homogenized enough, there won't be enough lift. Once all the eggs are combined, stir until you get a proper triangle test: Your mixer paddle should come up with a triangular ribbon of dough that doesn't gloop off. If it does, add more flour. If it is too thick to form a triangle, add a touch of water.

After combining, set the dough aside for 20 – 30 minutes to cool. If it's too hot when you pipe the balls, they'll spread into disks. Once cooled, go ahead and pipe. Don't add more dough once they're formed: It won't incorporate into the main ball, and that little bit extra will weigh down the ball as it's trying to rise. 

When they're formed and ready for the oven, the right temperature is critical. It may sound finicky, but cream puffs require a two-temp approach to baking. The first 15 minutes should be hotter — 425 degrees Fahrenheit. This will help the water in the dough turn to steam, and coax the dough into setting in time to capture that lift. If the oven is too cool, they won't rise and hollow out. After 15 minutes, lower the temp to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent burning during the remaining 25 minutes.

Take one out to test with a toothpick. The toothpick should come out clean if they're done. If dough clings to the toothpick then it's still too moist, and they'll collapse as they cool. Once baked, moving quickly, poke a small hole in each cream puff to allow steam to escape, and turn them hole up. Put them back in the (turned off) oven for 5 minutes to dry out. Split them once they're cool enough to handle. After all your hard work, your cream puffs should be hollow, high, and impressive.