What is Choux au Craquelin (pronounce shoo-o-krat-ker-lan)? They are baked mini cream puffs with a sweet, crackly, crunchy topping. Tiger (aka hubby) just could not get the pronunciation right and I’ve given up correcting him. At least I had a good laugh every time he tried.
Don’t be intimidated by this dressed up French dessert. With just a little effort and time, you’ll be able to enjoy these delicious treats all by yourself.., I mean with your loved ones. After all, sharing is caring. 
I love to pop these chilled bite size puffs whole into my mouth and taste the glory of the fresh whipped cream exploding in my mouth. The only vocabulary I could think of is “Mmm” (with as many ‘m’s as necessary). There are many other flavors (i.e chocolate, caramel, chestnut, etc) you could fill in these puffs but vanilla is my all-time favorite filling. What is your favorite flavor? 
Ingredients:
Craquelin (Crunchy Dough)
¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter – room temperature
1/3 cup (67 g) light brown sugar
½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
Pâte à choux (Choux Pastry) for step by step guide, please click on link below
1/2 cup (75 g) all-purpose flour – sifted
1/2 stick (57 g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (90 ml) water
2 tbsp (30 ml) whole milk
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten with 1/4 tsp vanilla extract – room temperature
Crème Chantilly (fresh whipped cream) for step by step guide, please click on link below
1 cup (250 ml) cold whipping cream
6 tbsp (46 g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Makes 15 mini puffs
Recipe source: Eugenie Kitchen
The line up for making craquelin.
From left to right: cocoa powder, lemon yellow food gel, pink rose food gel and green leaf food gel. This step is optional if you do not want to add any color to the craquelin.
Craquelin (Crunchy Dough):
In a medium bowl, add the butter and sugar together and mix well.
Add in the flour and roughly mix to combine.
Transfer to a smooth surface and use the palm of your hand (both hands, if you wish) to smooth out the paste. You will feel the grainy bits of the sugar and that is fine.
At this point, your dough is ready to be refrigerated.
I’m going to dress it up by adding some colors – brown (cocoa powder), yellow (lemon gel color), red (pink rose gel color) and green (Christmas leaf gel color). Separate dough into 4 portions.
Add in 1 tbsp cocoa powder and mix well with a fork.
Put the dough on a piece of cling wrap and cover with another piece on top. Roll out the dough flat (about 0.5mm) and refrigerate.
Repeat the same with the remaining dough and colors.
Pâte à choux (Choux Pastry)
Now you can go ahead and prepare your choux pastry. Please click here for step by step guide.
Pipe your choux pastry on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. After you are done, take out the craquelin (one color at a time) and use a small round cookie cutter or a bottle cap and stamp out little discs, about the same diameter as the choux.
You could use a bottle cap as well.
Place on top of the choux, pressing down slightly.
Place them about 1 inch apart as they will puff up during baking.
Bake at 200°C/390°F for 20 mins until puffy and golden. Remove from baking tray and cool on a wire rack.
Crème Chantilly (fresh whipped cream)
Go ahead and make the whipped cream. Please click here for step by step guide.
Let’s assemble the choux. You can either slice them horizontally across into half and pipe the cream.
The inside should be light and hollow.
Alternatively, use a small piping tube with a straight head and poke into the bottom of the choux. Pipe the cream into it.
Don’t pipe them too full or else the creme would leak out.
This is just right. 🙂
Repeat the same for the rest. Refrigerate for at least an hour. I like to serve them chilled (but I couldn’t resist popping a few into my mouth).
Full Instructions:
Craquelin (Crunchy Dough):
In a medium bowl, add the butter and sugar together and mix well. Add in the flour and roughly mix to combine. Transfer to a smooth surface and use the palm of your hand (both hands, if you wish) to smooth out the paste. You will feel the grainy bits of the sugar and that is fine. At this point, your dough is ready to be refrigerated. I’m going to dress it up by adding some colors – brown (cocoa powder), yellow (lemon gel color), red (pink rose gel color) and green (Christmas leaf gel color). Separate dough into 4 portions. Add in 1 tbsp cocoa powder and mix well with a fork. Put the dough on a piece of cling wrap and cover with another piece on top. Roll out the dough flat (about 0.5mm) and refrigerate.
Pâte à choux (Choux Pastry):
Now you can go ahead and prepare your choux pastry. Please click here for step by step guide.
Pipe your choux pastry on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. After you are done, take out the craquelin (one color at a time) and use a small round cookie cutter or a bottle cap and stamp out little discs, about the same diameter as the choux. Place on top of the choux, pressing down slightly. Bake at 200°C/390°F for 20 mins until puffy and golden. Remove from baking tray and cool on a wire rack.
Crème Chantilly (fresh whipped cream):
Go ahead and make the whipped cream.Please click here for step by step guide.
Let’s assemble the choux. You can either slice them horizontally across into half and pipe the cream. Alternatively, use a small piping tube with a straight head and poke into the bottom of the choux. Pipe the cream into it. Repeat the same for the rest. Refrigerate for at least an hour. I like to serve them chilled (but I couldn’t resist popping a few into my mouth).
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