Banana pudding is one of those things that is simply irresistible. Nilla wafers are topped with a banana cream and slices of bananas to create a dessert that is absolutely addicting. Just take a look at New York’s Magnolia Bakery. The banana pudding is probably their number one seller and there are plenty of recipes out there recreating the dish. These Banana Pudding Cream Puffs take their inspiration from the dessert–filled with a banana pastry cream lightened with whipped cream, these are topped with a chocolate glaze (which is totally optional), and are sprinkled with crushed Nilla Wafers–all in a single, hand-held pastry.
Prior to these cream puffs, I had only made choux pastry once. The recipe for this dough comes from my mom’s cookbook. She’s had this recipe forever and maybe only made these once a year as I was growing up, a frequency that has actually lessened as the years have gone on. I maybe made eclairs once after a Great British Bake Off binge years ago when I spent days lost in the show and decided one day that I wanted to try my hand at eclairs and macarons (the latter were a complete disaster in that first try–I am pretty sure that I didn’t have any almond flour and attempted to make it myself, resulting in almond butter after my first try with the food processor).
I feel like choux is one of those things that people easily mess up on under the pressure of baking shows. In reality, however, it isn’t as complicated as these panicked bakers make it sound. Just make sure to check the consistency of the dough as you stir in the eggs. The number of eggs might vary depending on how big and how much moisture they contain. My mom said she almost always uses 5 eggs. I only ended up using 4. Sometimes, you might need to beat the 5th egg and only add half. Once you know the consistency you’re looking for, checking as you go should help keep you from making a dough that’s too thin.
This is one of those base recipes that I should probably post process photos for. If you want a more detailed post regarding the process of making the choux pastry, let me know! The problem here is that I made the dough at 10:00 PM. Meaning that there wasn’t much light for photographing in a mostly dark kitchen. Process photos are something that I would love to do more of, especially when it comes to something like choux pastry where the consistency is key.
This pastry cream recipe is also my mom’s old go-to. The addition of the banana was my slight change to it, but the rest of it all comes straight from her recipe book. Thickened with eggs, this cream is silky and the perfect filling for these Banana Pudding Cream Puffs. I may have to throw whatever I have left over into a bowl with some Nilla Wafers and banana slices, let the cookies soften, and just eat this with a spoon like real banana pudding. The best part is that the flavor comes from actual bananas–no artificial banana extract.
These are best served after a bit of chilling so that the cream has time to soften the choux pastry.
| Cook Time | 55 minutes |
| Servings |
small cream puffs
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- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 6 egg yolks large, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 bananas mashed
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
- 5 Tbsp butter unsalted
- 20-25 Nilla wafers crushed
Ingredients
Banana Cream Filling
Topping
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- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt together the butter and water until boiling. Add the flour and salt, and using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, stir to cook out the flour, making sure to scrape along the edges of the pan.
- Remove the pan from the heat and begin to add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring until the egg is completely beaten into the dough. The number of eggs needed is dependent on how big your eggs are, so check the consistency as you go. The dough should be shiny and thick and should drop from the spoon or the spatula.
- Using an overflowing teaspoon or a piping bag, drop rounds of dough on to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven to 375°F and continue to bake an additional 15 minutes. Do NOT open the oven as the choux pastry bakes.
- Turn off the oven. Using a knife, prick the cream puffs to allow steam to escape so that the insides will dry out. Leave the puffs in the oven for an additional 20 minutes and then remove.
- In a medium to large saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in the milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes. Allow to boil for 1 minute.
- In a separate, small bowl. Beat together the egg yolks with a fork. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the milk/flour/sugar mixture to the bowl with the eggs and stir to temper the eggs. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the milk, stirring. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon or spatula well (about 8 minutes) and just a few small bubbles form. Do NOT boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer the cream to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap should touch the cream so that it doesn't form a skin while chilling. Chill well. Once chilled, fold in the mashed banana.
- Using a hand mixer, with a stand mixer, or with a wire whisk, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled banana cream.
- In a small microwavable bowl, melt the dark or bittersweet chocolate chips and the butter. Stir until fully melted and combined.
- Cut the tops off of the puffs. Dip the tops into the melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed Nilla Wafers. Allow to dry/firm up.
- Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill the cream puffs with the banana cream and top with the dipped pastry tops. If there is some pastry in the center because it didn't dry out enough in the oven, remove so that the puff is hollow prior to filling.
- Keep the cream puffs chilled in an airtight container. These are best when filled before needed as the cream helps soften the pastry.