These super indulgent Coffee Choux Buns are made with a classic Choux Pastry Bun filled with delicious Coffee Flavoured Pastry Cream and finished with a Coffee Glaze. They are best enjoyed with a cup of coffee. Obviously!

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Why we love this recipe
I simply LOVE Choux Pastry. Not only the basic Choux Pastry recipe is ridiculously versatile, you always get amazingly fluffy, light and delicious little treats!
Flavouring Choux Pastry with Coffee is a real classic French recipe. Although more famously used to flavour Eclairs, I am today making a mini version of this icon with Coffee Choux Buns. It has all the traditional Choux Pastry elements:
- a basic 5 ingredients Choux Pastry dough
- A flavoured 'Creme Patissiere' or custard
- A shiny glaze
Tempted yet? Here we go!
Basic Choux Pastry Recipe
Choux Pastry (aka Pâte à Choux) can seem a bit intimidating if you have never attempted the recipe before. But don't worry; with a few tips and easy instructions, you will make the perfect Choux!
With this Basic Choux Pastry Recipe, you can create many many different treats - both sweet and savoury. Choux à la Crème, Chocolate Choux Buns, Chouquettes, Profiteroles, Mini Chocolate Éclairs, French Cruller Donuts, Gougeres, Choux au Craquelin... you name it! But for now, let's focus on the their common thing: Choux Pastry.
To make a Basic Choux Pastry, you will only need 4 ingredients:
- Water
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
Yup, it's that easy! The key to succeeding your Choux Pastry is to understand how - and why - it works. The success of a Choux is very dependant on the way it is baked. It needs to be baked twice; once on the stove, then in the oven.
For the Choux Pastry - or Pâte à Choux - to puff when baked in the oven, the pastry dough needs to be dehydrated in a pot. Indeed, you won't need bowls or other utensils for the recipe - it all happens on the stove, in a pot!
Let's walk through the different steps:
- Place the Water and Butter in a medium size pot, and bring to a boil.
- Once it is boiling, move away from the heat and drop in the flour at once. With a wooden spoon, mix the flour in until all incorporated.
- Place the pot back on the heat and mix the dough with the spoon for a couple of minutes to dehydrate it. Use the side of your pot (that should be really hot at this point) to dry out the dough but pressing it against the sides.
- Turn off the heat and leave the dough to cool down for a few minutes. That is to avoid "cooking" the eggs that you will add next.
- Once cool, add the Eggs - one at the time. Mix well with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in between each eggs.
- Ta-dah! You've got your Choux Pastry ready to be piped in your chosen way!
One last tip to succeed your Choux Pastry: bake your Choux in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until puffed (depending on the shape and size of the choux, you may need more or less time), then bake for another 5 minutes with the door of the oven slightly open. This will allow for all the steam to come out and create a crispy shell.
Coffee Pastry Cream
The second element of most Choux pastries is the filling, traditionally made out of a Creme Patissiere (or Custard). Again, just like the Choux Pastry, a Creme Patissiere is made out of very basic ingredients:
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- Egg Yolks
- Sugar
- Milk
- Cornstarch
You can use these 4 basic ingredients alone to create a simple Creme Patissiere, or use other ingredients on top to flavour it. For this recipe, I made a Coffee Creme Patissiere, but you can basically use any flavouring ingredient, fruits or chocolate to create a Creme Patissiere.
The traditional recipe is usually flavoured with Vanilla - like the one I used for my Plum Vanilla Custard Tart. To make a Basic Creme Patissiere - or custard - here are the few different steps:
- Bring the milk to a boil with the Coffee.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the Sugar and Egg Yolk until foamy. Add the Cornstarch and mix well to have no lumps
- Pour half of the hot milk on top the the Egg mixture while mixing, then transfer it all back in the pot with the rest of the milk.
- Place the pot back on the heat and whisk the cream until it starts thickening (this will happen relatively fast). Transfer the Creme Patissiere into another bowl or container, cover with cling wrap placed directly over the cream (should be touching it) and leave it to cool down in the fridge until ready to use.
Cacao Coffee Glaze
So we are now getting to the last step of the recipe. Your Choux Buns have come out of the oven and have been cooled down on a rack. Your Coffee Creme Patissiere is chilled in the fridge. The Choux Buns have been assembled (see the steps below).
It is now time for the last step: the glaze. For this recipe, I sticked to the Coffee Theme and created a Cacao Coffee Glaze. I added the Cacao Powder to create an even more intense flavour, but you could definitely only use Instant Coffee Powder if you prefer.
To make the glaze, I simply boiled some Milk with the Instant Coffee Powder, Cacao Powder and a little bit of Sugar. Then, I added some Agar Agar Powder.
And that's it! If you have read some of my other recipes, you know that I LOVE used Agar Agar, which is a natural, plant-based Gelling Agent. It has the interesting property of transforming any liquid into a gel very quickly, and more interestingly, of going back to a liquid form when re-heated.
How to assemble the Choux Buns
Now that we have discussed all the different Coffee Choux Buns elements separately, let's talk about how to assemble them.
First, the Choux Pastry. Once your batter is ready (and cool), place it into a pipping bag with a large round piping nozzle. Line a baking tray with baking paper or a Silicone Baking Mat.
Pipe the Choux Buns your chosen size; I made small, bite-size ones but you can also make larger ones. They will puff in the oven so leave some space in between each Choux.
Place them in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes (for a small choux), then slightly open the oven door, place a wooden spoon in the opening to keep it open and bake for another 5 minutes.
Once the Choux Buns are baked, transfer them onto a cooling rack and let them cool down completely. In the meantime, start preparing your Coffee Creme Patissiere and let it rest in the fridge until completely cool.
To assemble them, create a small hole on the bottom of each choux using a knife or a round piping nozzle. Place the Coffee Creme Patissiere into a piping bag and fill each Choux.
Lastly, prepare your Cacao Coffee Glaze. Wait a couple of minutes for the Glaze to start cooling down - but don't wait to long or it will start to set. Dip each Choux in the Glaze then place back on the cooling rack to set. Optionally, you can double dip them for a thicker glaze.
To do so, wait for the first layer of glaze to have set before dipping them for a second time. To finish the Coffee Choux Buns, I sprinkle them with some shaved Dark Chocolate and Shredded Coconut. Enjoy!
Made this recipe?
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Recipe
Coffee Choux Buns
Ingredients
Basic Choux Pastry
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) Water
- 60 gr (1/4 cup) Butter
- 1 tbsp. Caster Sugar
- 75 gr (1/2 cup) Plain Flour
- 2 Eggs
Coffee Creme Patissiere
- 250 ml (1 cup) Full Cream Milk
- 2 tbsp Instant Coffee Powder - Use more or less depending on the intensity of the flavour your want
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 30 gr (2 tbsp) Caster Sugar
- 30 gr (1/4 cup) Cornstarch
Cacao Coffee Glaze
- 150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) Full Cream Milk
- 2 teasp. Instant Coffee Powder
- 1 teasp. Unsweetened Cacao Powder
- 1 teasp. Caster Sugar
- 1 teasp. Agar Agar Powder
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
Basic Choux Pastry
- Preheat the oven on 180'C.
- In a medium size pot, bring the Water and Butter to a boil with the Sugar. When boiling, remove from the heat and drop in the Flour at once. With a wooden spoon, mix the flour in until all incorporated.
- Place the pot back on the heat and mix the dough with the spoon for a couple of minutes to dehydrate it. Use the side of your pot (that should be really hot at this point) to dry out the dough but pressing it against the sides.
- Turn off the heat and transfer into a clean bowl. Leave the dough to cool down for a few minutes (see note 1).Add the Eggs - one at the time. Mix well with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in between each eggs.
- Line a baking tray with paper or a mat. Fill a piping bag with a round piping nozzle with the Choux Pastry and pipe little circle of dough. Leave enough space in between each of them to puff.
- Place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the choux look puffed and golden brown. Open the over door to let the steam out and directly close it back. Leave to cook for another 10 minutes (see note 2). Move the Choux Buns on a cooling rack and leave them to cool down completely.
Coffee Creme Patissiere
- In a small pot, bring the Milk and Instant Coffee Powder to a boil.
- In the meantime, whisk the Egg Yolks and Sugar in a separate bowl until foamy. Add the Cornstarch and mix well until there are no more lumps. While whisking, pour half of the Milk over the eggs, quickly mix, then pour the batter back into the pot with the rest of the Milk.
- Place the pot back on the heat and vigorously whisk until it starts thickening. Directly remove from the heat and transfer the Creme Patissiere onto a clean bowl. Cover with Cling Wrap (touching the cream) and place in the fridge to cool down completely.
To assemble the Choux
- Create a small hole on the bottom of each choux. Fill a clean piping bag with the Coffee Creme Patissiere. Fill each Choux with the Creme Patissiere.
Cacao Coffee Glaze
- Place the Milk, Cacao Powder, Instant Coffee Powder and Sugar in a Pot. Bring to a boil, then add the Agar Agar Powder. Whisk for a couple of minutes then remove from the heat.
- Wait about 5 minutes for the glaze to start setting, then dip each Choux in the glaze. Optionally, dip a second time for a thicker glaze.
- Sprinkle some shaved Dark Chocolate and/or Shredded Coconut on top of each choux to finish them.
Tried this recipe? Make sure to leave a comment and star rating below!
Notes
- It is important to let the dough cool down before adding the eggs. If you add the eggs while the batter is still hot, it will cool the eggs - which you want to avoid.
- Another technique is to cook the Choux with the oven door closed, then open it and leave it slightly opened by placing a wooden spoon between the door and the oven.